Unholy Alliance
by mindthegapper
Summary: Sequel to Friendly Fire
1. Chapter 1

Cassadine Island. Main House. Nikolas and Claudia's Bedroom.

There was a cool, soothing breeze tempering the warmth of the sunlight. Nikolas had opened the French doors to the patio while she was asleep. She hadn't opened her eyes yet, but there was that sweet toddler smell near her. And as that thought reached her consciousness, tiny fingers patted her chin. She struggled to keep up the appearance of sleeping. But he wasn't fooled. The teeny fingers gently pushed the corners of her mouth upward. She gave up the fight and smiled. And was rewarded with a soft, pleased giggle.

"Someone's been sleeping in my bed," Claudia said. She opened her eyes and found herself face to face with Jonah. He smiled. She kissed his fingertips. "Hello, piccolo," she said.

"Ciao," he replied. It was the fifth word he had learned. The first was the usual "Mama," followed by "Dada," followed by "Ped" -- his version of Spencer. And number four was "Uh-oh," which probably wasn't technically a word, but was hysterically funny coming from a one year-old. Almost six months later, it was still funny. He had added a few more words since then, but "Ciao," which sounded like "See-ow" coming from Jonah, was Claudia's favorite, and Jonah knew it.

Jonah pushed himself up to a sitting position.

"Oh, boy," Claudia said. "You're ready to get up, huh? Give Mommy a minute."

Jonah just smiled and played with her hair. She didn't know just how it had happened, but somehow her blunt aggressiveness, Nikolas' commanding nature, Spencer's mix of humor and arrogance, and Sonny's temper had all combined to create the sweetest and most sensitive little boy imaginable. Nurture was definitely out as a factor. She couldn't imagine where he'd picked it up through nature. It certainly wasn't from her family tree. As much as she loved Jonah's sweetness, the thought of it coming from somewhere out of Sonny's family tree gave her pause. A little like Jonah's dimples sometimes did.

She gingerly lifted herself up to a sitting position. Much better than earlier this morning. With _that_ thought, she grimaced and snuck a look at the clock on the night table. She groaned.

"I take it you're not feeling better," Nikolas said, coming in with a tray holding a teapot and mug.

"Please," Claudia said, "Please tell me you did not feed our guests breakfast out of cereal cartons." Alfred's wife, Millicent, had an agreement with Claudia. Millicent was allowed to all of the cooking during the week ... as long as Claudia still got control of the kitchen on weekends. This weekend, apparently, was off to a rough start. Claudia had missed Saturday's first meal.

"We managed. Everyone's alive and satisfied."

Nikolas put the tray down next to Claudia on the bed. He took a seat next to Jonah and lifted the boy up onto his lap.

"So," Claudia began.

"Yes?"

"How did I end up with a visitor?"

"Ah," said Nikolas. "Someone was a little sleepy this morning. Even more quiet than usual. And he perked up when I suggested a nap with Mommy."

"Really?," Claudia asked Jonah.

Jonah held out his arms. She took him from Nikolas, and Jonah wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her.

Claudia pulled back and looked at him. "You're a little warm, piccolo." She looked up at Nikolas. "Did you take his temperature?"

Nikolas nodded. "Low grade. The doctor said to call if there's any change."

"Incoming!," Spencer shouted from the doorway. He launched himself onto the bed, landing with a feigned bomb sound that would've done any other almost-five year-old proud.

"Careful, Pedro," Claudia said.

"Hey," Spencer said.

"What? What happened?" Claudia whipped her head around, pretending to look for the source of the trouble.

"Stop it."

"Claudia," Nikolas cautioned.

"You let Jonah call you 'Ped,'" Claudia complained to Spencer.

"He's my brother. He can call me anything."

Jonah beamed at Spencer.

"What about me?," Claudia said.

"You're just my mother. You _have_ to call me by the right name."

Spencer was a little too much of a bulldozer to notice, but Nikolas saw Claudia's eyes soften for a moment before she went back to teasing Spencer.

"That seems a little unfair," Claudia pointed out. "You call _me_ 'Claudee.'"

"Careful," Nikolas said. He leaned in to whisper in Claudia's ear. "I wouldn't press the point if you like being called 'Claudee.'"

"Can I come in?," Alexis said from the door. Amazing. The four of them -- Nikolas, Claudia, Spencer and Jonah -- spent most of their time on the island. A large island, but an island nonetheless. Each boy had his own room. Claudia and Nikolas had separate offices. And every time Alexis went looking for one of the four, she found all four of them together.

"Of course," Nikolas said.

"Sorry about this morning," Claudia muttered, brushing a hand through her sleep-tossed hair.

"Come on the bed," Spencer said to Alexis, as he jumped up and down on the mattress.

"No," said Alexis. "Thank you. I just wanted to let you know that I'm going into Athens for the afternoon. I'm going to be a tourist. And hopefully find some good sales."

"All right," Nikolas said.

"What time will you be back?," Claudia asked. "Do you want me to hold dinner?"

"No, nothing that drastic. I should be back late afternoon. How are you feeling?," Alexis asked, a little belatedly. Absence had not made either woman's heart grow fonder. But they both dealt with it. Because they both loved Nikolas.

"Better," Claudia allowed. _Especially since _you're_ going into town_, she thought. She looked up and caught Nikolas looking at her. From his raised eyebrow, she could have sworn he read her mind. "Are you taking the girls with you?," Claudia asked Alexis, in a much friendlier tone of voice.

**************************************

Cassadine Island. The Beach.

Molly and Spencer were playing in the surf.

Claudia dabbed some lotion on Jonah's nose. He sneezed.

"Oh! I'm sorry," she said, putting down the lotion and picking him up. She fell backwards, onto her back, and lifted Jonah away from her, and then back down to her again. He laughed. Claudia was about to raise him up again when she noticed a mark on his ankle. She made a mental note to ask Spencer and Nikolas about it.

"Can I hold him?," Kristina said, sitting down next to Claudia.

Well, this was different. Kristina had been hostile during every other trip to the island. On her very first one, she'd let Claudia know why. Michael. Claudia's best kept secret was no longer a secret in Port Charles.

Even though Claudia didn't like Alexis, she had to admit she had some respect for the woman. To Alexis' credit, her hostility toward Claudia hadn't increased since the news had reached her.

Looking at Kristina, Claudia's first instinct was to say, "Keep your hands off my kid!" But she stuffed that down and said, "Sure." She sat up and passed Jonah to Kristina.

"Hi, Jonah," Kristina said.

Jonah just smiled and reached for Kristina's earring. Claudia quickly reached up and took Kristina's earrings off.

"What are you --"

"He likes shiny objects. Like a bird collecting things for a nest. So unless you want a shredded earlobe..." Claudia tucked the earrings into her purse.

"Thanks," said Kristina. They were quiet for awhile, and then Kristina spoke again. "He's my brother, you know."

Claudia didn't know what to do with that, except be grateful Jonah wasn't old enough to understand this conversation. "I know," Claudia said. "He's ready for a snack. Do you want to help him eat?"

"Really?"

Claudia took out a baggie full of cheese. She passed a nugget to Kristina. Jonah turned away from it.

"Piccolo," Claudia said. Jonah looked at Claudia. Claudia grabbed a piece of cheese and popped it into her mouth. He reached for her. "Uh-uh," she said. "Kristina has yours."

Jonah looked at Kristina. She offered the cheese again, and he turned away from her.

"What is going on, piccolo? You don't like _cheese_ today? How is that possible?"

Jonah chewed on his fist.

"Maybe he doesn't like me," Kristina said.

"No," Claudia said. "He likes you. Look at how he's holding on to you." She looked into the girl's eyes. "You're a natural. Have you done this before?"

"A little. Babysitting."

Well, thought Claudia, there's a conversation killer. Claudia had never babysat a day in her life, unless letting Spencer destroy his father's books in Wyndemere's library counted.

"Did it hurt a lot when you gave birth?," Kristina asked.

"Oh my God, yes," Claudia responded without thinking. And maybe this was something Alexis would be ticked at Claudia for discussing with Kristina.

"Like how much?"

"I don't know what to compare it to," Claudia said. _Because your mother would definitely disapprove of me discussing knife wounds with you._ "Also, I think it's different for everyone."

"People just say that. So that women will want to have babies."

"No. I thought that, too, but I've heard some women talk about it like it almost split them in two or something. And other women are like, 'It was nothing. I could have gone dancing that night.' And neither of those two are anywhere near what I felt. You know?"

"I guess. Why can't I take a picture of Jonah for my father?"

And Claudia thought 3 year-olds were good at non-sequitors. "It's not just your father. We don't want any pictures taken of Jonah. Ever. Or Spencer."

"Why?"

"I'm sorry, Kristina, I can't talk about that. But I can tell you that I wish we could take pictures. I would really love some for myself when the boys get older. So I can remember what they were like."

Claudia silently cursed herself as she saw Kristina put the pieces together. "It's because of Helena."

Claudia didn't answer for a moment. "Partly. She can't do any damage if she doesn't know what they look like, right?"

Kristina looked at Claudia with something resembling respect. "Right," she said.

**************************************

A Village Outside of Athens. Afternoon.

Alexis headed up the pier to the Cassadine sailboat.

"Alexis!"

Alexis turned around. "Ric? What are you doing here?"

"I have business in Athens." He smiled. "Well, business and pleasure. Are you here with the girls?"

"Yes, we're staying on the family island. Quick vacation before school starts up and Kristina goes back to college."

"So Molly's here."

"Yes," Alexis said slowly.

"Can I come over?"

"I... I don't know. Let me check."

"Check?"

Alexis gestured to the guards. "There's an exclusive guest list."

"My daughter's on the island."

"It's not my island," Alexis said gently. "I'll be right back."

**************************************

Cassadine Island. Main House. Kitchen.

Claudia was checking the steaks when Nikolas came striding into the kitchen.

"Claudia," he said. He seemed angry.

She stood up, concerned. "What is it?"

"Ric has just made his presence known."

Claudia felt her heart leap into her throat. "How?"

"He approached Alexis on the piers. He wants to come to the island."

Claudia grabbed onto the kitchen counter and steadied herself. "Tell me," she said.

"He says he wants to see Molly."

"On the island."

"Yes. Alexis is telling him no right now. You may not leave the island. Under any circumstances. Until we ascertain --" Nikolas cut himself off when Claudia turned away from him. "What?"

"It's just -- I have an appointment. Tomorrow."

"And?"

Claudia looked at Nikolas, the anger pulsing off of him. "Nothing."

"Is it important? Can you cancel it?"

"It's important," she said slowly. "But I can cancel it."

"Good." Nikolas stormed out of the room.

**************************************

Cassadine Island. Main House. Nikolas' Office.

An appointment, she said. Something that made her hesitate to take herself out of her father's path. Had Claudia known Ric was in town? Was she intending to meet him privately?

Of all the men Claudia had been with, Ric was the one who made Nikolas' blood boil the most. Ric. Who also had a despised father. Who had plotted with Claudia. Whom she had continued to sleep with when she was married to Sonny. Who also had that all-consuming dark side. They had so much in common, it was a wonder they hadn't become one person when they'd finally met. The shared emotions of unfavored siblings. The drive to prove themselves worthy. The shaky morality.

A few weeks after Nikolas and Claudia's wedding, they had gone over every conceivable warning sign that might arise concerning Anthony and Helena.

Claudia had told him about Ric in a blunt, understated manner. He'd pressed for details. She hadn't wanted to give them, didn't see the point. But Nikolas knew she was helpless as far as he was concerned -- if he asked, Claudia would always tell him the truth. There were sometimes when he avoided asking -- like that incident with Spencer's puppy -- because he didn't want to know. But her weakness toward him was something he occasionally used.

The night he'd made her talk about Ric was the first night they'd spent together when he hadn't reached for her. And when she'd reached for him, he'd pulled away from her touch and turned away from her. In the middle of the night, she'd shaken him awake, furious. "When a man blackmails me into having sex," she had said, her eyes moist with unshed tears, "generally, that's the end of the attraction for me. I can't believe you." She went to leave the bed. He'd pulled her back in, and had made love to her with a possessiveness neither of them had known he was capable of. The next morning they had made up. Tenderly. And that was the last time they'd discussed Ric.

**************************************

Cassadine Island. Main House. Dining Room. Evening.

Claudia picked up the last of the dinner plates. This was usually Nikolas' job on the weekends, but he had already gone into the kitchen. With Alexis.

He had barely looked at Claudia during dinner. He didn't seem to be talking to her either. At one point, Alexis had intervened and tried to get them all in a single conversation, but Nikolas had turned to Jonah and concentrated a little too hard on feeding him.

Claudia decided to ignore his behavior. At least for as long as they had guests. They had never had this problem before. Mike had visited. Lulu had visited. And this wasn't Alexis' first visit. Claudia had managed to be civil -- almost hostly -- during all of the visits. She'd been the reason he'd had to move away from his family. She wanted them to want to visit. For him to not lose anyone because of her.

Any time she felt her temper flare up, she thought of John. She thought of how she would feel if Nikolas made John unwelcome. She thought of how much she missed John, and how lucky Nikolas was to have family. She didn't want to jeopardize that for him.

_If at first you don't succeed_, Claudia thought, entering the kitchen.

**************************************

The Kitchen.

All conversation ceased when she came into the room.

She placed the dishes in the sink and began to rinse them.

"Leave those. The staff will get it," Nikolas said.

"Okay," Claudia said.

Most weekends, Nikolas usually watched Claudia cook. And Claudia usually helped Nikolas with the dishes. Neither of those things had happened tonight. Claudia shook off this feeling. He just wanted some time alone with his aunt. Probably.

She leaned in to kiss his cheek before she left. He didn't lean in to the kiss. He seemed to barely tolerate it.

Claudia got a lump in her throat.

"I...," she said. "I'll be in my office. With the fiber optics file. Always a laugh riot. Good night, Alexis."

"Good night," Alexis said, looking at Nikolas as if he had a third eye.

Claudia left.

"Trouble in paradise?," Alexis asked.

"What do you mean?," Nikolas said.

"I mean," Alexis said, crossing her fingers that this wouldn't be a subject that would make Nikolas shut down, "that you've been a little ... _cold_ to Claudia. Rude. Has the bloom fallen off the rose?"

"You would just love that, wouldn't you?," Nikolas said. Before Alexis could pursue the topic any further, Nikolas continued, "Forgive me. I need to get some work done. I'll be in my office."

He left the room.

Since Nikolas had been with Claudia, he'd been happier than Alexis had ever seen him before. Looked like the lows were lower, too.

**************************************

Cassadine Island. Main House. Hours later.

She'd obviously been working in her office. But everything had already been tidied up for the night. Nikolas turned the lights off and headed down the hallway.

Claudia wasn't in the bedroom either, but the patio doors were open. He went outside.

She was walking along the beach. He waited for her to look out over the water, toward the mainland. Claudia loved city life. Every possible celebration -- birthday, anniversary, New Year's, every Saint's birthday that he could dig up -- basically any excuse he could find -- Nikolas took her to Athens. She never complained about spending so much time on the island, but there was a way in which she lit up in a club that was gorgeous to look at. Nikolas was probably too much of a homebody for Claudia, but she'd looked at him oddly the one time he asked her about it, and said she'd take his body any way she could get it, home or not.

Right now, Nikolas thought, she's probably wondering about a night in a club with Ric.

But Claudia didn't look toward the mainland. She looked inland. And Nikolas had a sinking twinge of remorse when he saw where she was looking. It was their cove. Where they went to be alone together.

One night, a little more than two months ago, they'd been sitting in the cove when Claudia asked him what he liked about her. He'd laughed.

"We've been married for over a year, and you're not certain about what I like about you?," he'd asked.

"No," she'd said, poking him. "I mean, aside from the obvious. The things you never mention."

"You mean there are things _you_ don't mention."

"Well, yeah. I mean, you know I like the way you wake me up. And you know I like your laugh. But..." She trailed off.

"What?"

She reached out and touched his lips. "These. Your lips drive me crazy. I remember there was one night..."

"Are you blushing?"

"I don't blush, Batman." She was blushing. She quickly returned to the topic at hand. "At the guest house. On Spoon Island. Before we were together. I had you and Spencer over for dinner, and I..."

She leaned in, almost unaware of what she was doing. She skimmed his lips with her own and sighed. Then she kissed him, tugging at his lips with her own. Neither one of them had a chance. For the rest of the week, they kept finding sand in strange places. There were still some days when their eyes would meet during business meetings and his mind would wander back to that night.

Nikolas suddenly realized he'd never answered her question. He left the patio and headed toward the cove.

**************************************

She'd probably done something to offend Alexis. But she'd wracked her brain, and still couldn't remember a single thing she could have done to make Nikolas mad at her.

She considered making a blanket apology to Alexis in the morning, but Alexis already thought she was nuts, and if Claudia _hadn't_ done anything to offend her, Alexis would know just how skewed Claudia's morals were; it would mean that Claudia didn't know the difference between right and wrong and just covered her bases all the time.

Claudia had a recurring nightmare. It didn't take a psychiatrist to figure out where it came from. In her dreams, Claudia would be making dinner while Nikolas watched, or she would be turning to Nikolas as she woke up in the morning, or they were leaving one of the kids' rooms after putting him to bed -- those parts varied, but the next part never did. Before she could speak, Nikolas would say, "I don't know how to tell you this, Claudia." And Claudia would try to get away from him. Because if he never said the words, he couldn't be held accountable. For falling out of love with her. She always woke up, with her heart racing, to find Nikolas peacefully sleeping beside her.

People fell out of love all the time. She knew that. She couldn't imagine falling out of love herself, but Nikolas was a romantic at heart. He fell in love with fantasies -- a lot. Rebecca. Nadine. He would convince himself that he was in love with someone, and then realize he was not. She had panic attacks sometimes that the clock was ticking down for her, that he was going to find out something about her that would finally open his eyes.

"Your voice." His breath tickled her ear and she started, turning to look at him.

"When did you get here?," she asked him.

He ignored the question. And repeated himself. "Your voice."

And she got it. Her eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Nikolas," she said, kissing him.

He pulled her down to the sand, and wrapped his arms around her from behind. He spoke softly into her ear. "I was coming back from dropping Spencer off at Beecher's Corners. I had a nightmare, and I couldn't call you. And all I wanted to do was hear your voice. Even ... Never mind."

"What?"

"I'm going to keep that part to myself."

"Cheat," she said. He kissed her neck.

"You'll never guess where I found sand this morning," he said.

She laughed. And then she took a deep breath. She turned to him. She touched his lips. He smiled.

"I think that was the night, Nikolas," she said. He shook his head, not understanding. She grabbed his hand and pulled it to her abdomen. "I think ..."

Her voice trailed off as she watched his face change. As long as she lived, she would never forget that look of wonder, followed by ... He had never looked as in love as he looked at that moment.

She nodded. "I think I'm pregnant."

They kissed. Pulled back, and then hugged each other tightly.

Then he went cold. She began to panic, but when he pulled back, he looked angry at himself.

"That was the appointment," he said.

"I said it was important," she pointed out.

"We'll go tomorrow."

"But my father --"

"We'll take eight guards with us and stick the boys in the playroom with a small army outside. End of discussion."

******************************************

Private Doctor's Office. Athens.

Nikolas -- normally calm, still Nikolas -- was pacing around the room. Claudia watched him from her chair.

"You know what?." she said.

"What?," he said, continuing to pace.

"I just remembered that we had agreed that you'd be pregnant this time."

He laughed, stopping in his tracks. He turned to her. "No. You _commanded_ me to be pregnant. A biological impossibility. Although..."

"What?"

"If I recall correctly, there was a reason behind your command. So I'd better start making up now for the four weeks of celibacy you're going to endure." He quickly edited himself. "If..."

The door opened and the doctor came back in.

Nikolas took his seat next to Claudia, and took her hand in his.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cassadine," the doctor said. "Congratulations." There was more, but Nikolas and Claudia didn't hear a word after that. They turned to each other.

"When," she said.

"When what?," he asked.

"When, not if. You're going to be making it up to me."

"Mr. Cassadine? Mrs. Cassadine?"

Claudia looked up at the doctor. "I'm sorry, Dr. Doukas. You were saying?"

Nikolas whispered in Claudia's ear as the doctor spoke. "Everything will be okay. I promise."

Claudia kissed him. She pulled back to ask, "If it's a boy, can we name him Pedro?"

Nikolas laughed. "How far --?" He stopped himself, realizing he was asking the wrong person. He turned to the doctor. "How far along is she?"

The doctor looked at him strangely. "Like I said: a little over two months."

"I told you," Claudia said to Nikolas. "That was the night."

The doctor gave up. He scribbled out a prescription for prenatal vitamins and handed it to Claudia.

"Why don't you give me a call later in the week?," he said.

Claudia and Nikolas rose. They really meant to have the decency to look at the man, but somehow ended up facing each other.

"Thank you, doctor," Nikolas said, not taking his gaze from Claudia.

"Yes, thank you," Claudia added, her hand slipping up Nikolas' chest.

Dr. Doukas quickly left the room as Nikolas pulled Claudia to him.

******************************************

Boat Slip. A Village Outside of Athens.

Nikolas had been a little worried about how Claudia would take it once she was finally pregnant. It had taken a very long time to convince her to try for a baby. She wanted a baby, and she wanted a baby with Nikolas. But she'd also realized something about what this child would mean, and it was her primary argument against having it.

But she seemed all right now. Ecstatic, even. Nevertheless, they had to keep this quiet for as long as they could. Nikolas made a mental note to call Pentonville when they got home.

Just before they turned the corner, preceded by four guards and followed by another four, Nikolas bent down to whisper in Claudia's ear. "How about 'Sandy'?," he asked. "Good for a boy or a girl."

Claudia laughed, and pulled him down to kiss his cheek.

Nikolas' grin froze and then melted. Claudia followed his gaze to their boat.

Ric.

Claudia unconsciously took a step back. Nikolas stepped in front of her.

"Hello, Claudia. Nikolas. I think there's been a mistake."

Claudia stepped out from behind Nikolas.

"What's that?," she said.

"I've been given to understand that I'm not allowed to visit your island."

"That's right," Claudia said.

"Or my son," Ric continued.

Nikolas reached out and pulled Claudia back as she lunged for Ric. His arm circled her waist and he drew her close to him.

"If you have a son," Nikolas said, "by all means, visit him. Because he's not on our island."

Ric drew some papers out of his coat pocket. He held them out to Claudia.

"What are those?," Nikolas asked.

"This," Ric said to Nikolas, "is an order for a paternity test." He looked at Claudia. "Sorry, my love, but I find any results obtained within a five mile radius of you suspect. I'll see you -- and my son -- tomorrow."


	2. Chapter 2

Cassadine Island. Main House. Claudia and Nikolas' Bedroom. Night.

The news from Pentonville was bad. Anthony Zacchara had been paroled.

Nikolas suspected something underhanded was going on at the prison; no one had been notified. Nikolas put out calls to Uncle Rudy, Sonny, the Port Charles police, the Russians and Puerto Rico. And then he had told Claudia.

He'd never seen her like that before. Completely undone. Weeping and shaking. She kept reaching out to touch him, as if she didn't quite believe he was still there. When he'd tried to get her to go to bed, she'd pulled herself together, and checked on the kids.

After that, he'd convinced her to come to bed. He held onto her tightly, and she'd finally fallen asleep.

He must have fallen asleep too, because the next thing he knew, she was crying out in her sleep. He shook her awake and when she opened her eyes, she reached out for him, saying desperately, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

She quickly left the bed. "Check Spencer," she said, leaving the room.

Spencer was fast asleep.

Nikolas found Claudia in Jonah's room, hovering over his crib.

"Hey," he said softly. "Spencer's okay."

She looked up at him. "I think I should sleep in here," she said.

She looked at him, ready to do battle if he tried to argue. But instead Nikolas looked at her with complete understanding.

"Let's take him to our room," Nikolas said, as he reached out and brushed her hair out of her face.

Claudia hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he said. "I'll go get Spencer, and we'll have a Cassadine sleepover."

Just hearing the word "sleepover" come out of Nikolas' mouth put a small smile on her face. "Thank you."

Nikolas went to the door and then stopped and looked back at Claudia. She looked calmer than she had a few moments before. He turned to go.

Claudia reached down into the crib, and saw something. Sharp intake of breath.

"Nikolas."

Nikolas stopped and turned to look at her.

"Come here."

Nikolas went over to the crib, and stood beside her.

"Look," she said. She lightly brushed a bruise on Jonah's arm. "Have you seen this?"

"No," he said. He looked at Claudia again. All of her nervousness had been replaced with motherly concern. "What's wrong?"

She felt Jonah's forehead.

"Mama?," he said sleepily, waking up.

"Come here, baby," she said, picking him up. "Jonah, you're going to sleep with Mommy and Daddy tonight, okay?"

"Uh-oh," he said.

"No, no, that's a good thing." She turned to Nikolas. "Nik, can you take him to our room, and then get Spencer? I need to call a D-O-C-T-O-R."

Nikolas took Jonah from Claudia. "What's happening?," he asked.

"Hopefully, nothing," she said.

*********************************************

The kids were asleep by the time Claudia got back to their room.

"What's going on?," Nikolas whispered.

She went to the patio and beckoned to Nikolas. Nikolas picked up a sweater from the chair by the door as they left. He put it over Claudia's shoulders as they went outside.

"Thanks," she said. "Jonah was tired yesterday morning, right?"

"Yes. And he didn't want to eat, but I got him to."

Claudia gave Nikolas a dirty look.

"You were sick. I didn't want to bother you."

"Sorry," she said. "Do you remember him being tired at any other time lately?"

"Not that I noticed."

"Me neither. It's just... The combination of symptoms -- including the appetite loss... That's his second bruise this week. I didn't think anything of the first one, but..."

Nikolas had looked at too many reports from General Hospital's Pediatric Department not to know where Claudia was going with this. On the one hand, maybe Claudia's over-protective mother gene had gone into hyperdrive while doing research in her spare time, and this was nothing. On the other hand, maybe she had caught something at an early stage. "What did the doctor say?"

"She's going to meet us at the hospital."

"At the paternity test."

"I'm sorry, did you say paternity test?"

"Pardon me. I meant the farce of the paternity test."

Claudia continued, satisfied. "As far as Ric will know, it will just be our doctor keeping an eye on his doctor and doing her own independent test. But she's going to thoroughly examine Jonah." She looked away from Nikolas. "Nik?"

He put his arm around her. "What?"

She rubbed his arm with her hand. "What happened to Jonah's umbilical cord?," she said gently.

Nikolas shivered.

She turned to him.

"I'm sorry," he said.

She touched his cheek. "It's okay. Kind of my fault, considering the circumstances of his birth."

"No."

They were both quiet.

"We did the best we could," she said, finally.

"About tomorrow," Nikolas said.

"Yeah."

"I'll have guards everywhere. Here with Spencer and with us at the hospital. It won't change the fact that Ric's going to find out what Jonah looks like, but the boys will be safe. We're ready."

"Ric found our boat. Do you think we were tailed to the doctor's office?"

"I don't know," Nikolas said.

"We're going to have to construct a few contingency plans."

"Tomorrow. After the doctor."

*************************************************

Cassadine Island. Main House. Kitchen. Morning.

Nikolas was finishing up loading the dishwasher when Alexis came into the kitchen.

"I never thought I'd see the day," Alexis said.

"We usually do these together," Nikolas said. "It's actually fun when that happens. Believe it or not."

He picked up the detergent and hesitated.

"You've never measured the detergent, have you?," Alexis said.

"Claudia won't let me."

Alexis laughed and took the detergent from him. She poured it into the dishwasher.

Nikolas started it up.

"I'm sorry," Alexis said. "I didn't know. About Ric."

"It's okay," Nikolas said.

"I'd apologize to Claudia, but..."

"We're going to need you," Nikolas said. "Later."

Something about the way Nikolas said that chilled Alexis.

"Okay," Alexis said.

"None of you are to leave the house today."

**************************************************

Cassadine Island. Main House. Jonah's Bedroom.

Claudia finished dressing Jonah. She felt his forehead. Still warm.

She lifted him and brought him to her rocking chair. She sat down and put him on her lap.

"Piccolo?"

"Yes."

"Today there are going to be people poking at you" -- Claudia poked at Jonah playfully -- "And prodding at you" -- she poked at him again. Jonah giggled. "And some of it might not be so much fun. I'm so sorry, amico, but I think there will be a needle. Show me how the needle feels."

Jonah pinched Claudia's arm.

"Ouch," she said.

"Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh! Is that what you're going to say when you feel the needle?"

Jonah looked momentarily confused, and then smiled and nodded.

"Let's practice again. Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh!"

"Right. And you don't have to be brave or anything you don't feel like being. You just be Jonah, and everyone else will have to deal with it. Okay?"

"Uh-oh!"

Claudia laughed. "I promise I'll be there the whole time."

Jonah reached up and tried to pull Claudia closer to him. "Mama."

She bent her face close to his. "What is it, baby?"

He kissed her. She lifted him close to her and hugged him.

***********************************************

Metropolitan Hosptial. Athens, Greece. Doctor's Office.

Jonah started to cry when the needle went into his arm, but he bravely looked up at Claudia and said, "Uh-oh."

"That's right, piccolo. Uh-oh. Look over here." Claudia maneuvered herself away from the needle and Jonah turned his head to look at her. She kissed his tears. "No more tears. Where did they go?"

Jonah touched her lips with his free arm.

"That's right. You can make all the tears you want to. And I will scoop them right up. Okay?"

He nodded.

"Good boy."

Nikolas studied Ric watching Claudia and Jonah together. Ric glanced at Nikolas and caught him staring.

"The swab would have sufficed, you know," he said to Nikolas.

"The two tests in Port Charles sufficed, but somehow you ducked out of town before they happened. Odd that this should suddenly become important to you."

That shut Ric up.

"Jonah!," Claudia said, her eyes widening.

"What?"

"You're done!" Claudia clapped her hands together.

Jonah turned his head to see his arm. No more needle. He turned back to Claudia, eyes wide.

"How did that happen?"

Jonah held up his arms.

"Not yet, piccolo." Claudia brushed her hand over the back of his head and glanced at Nikolas.

A technician put the samples on a tray and carried them from the room. Nikolas nodded at Claudia. He followed the samples from the room. Ric followed Nikolas. They were both followed by the doctor Ric had hired.

Dr. Christopoulos unwrapped a bandaid decorated with balloon shapes.

"Look at that, Jonah," Claudia said. Jonah smiled. The doctor taped the bandaid over Jonah's needle spot.

"Where are the bruises?," the doctor asked.

**************************************************************

Nikolas leaned on the wall of the hallway outside of the technician's office, arms folded. Ric leaned against the spot next to Nikolas.

"She's a good mother," Ric said.

"Thank you for your approval," Nikolas said. "It means a lot. To both of us."

"Ah. Royal sarcasm. Claudia must love that. She doesn't take kindly to anyone acting superior."

Nikolas didn't answer.

"You keeping her on the island?," Ric asked. "All the time? Because Claudia has a problem with monogamy. Did you know she slept with me, my brother _and_ my father? There have been variations on that in the past, but no one else has ever hit the trifecta. Not that it wasn't worth it to me. But you would know all about that, right?"

Nikolas kept his face impassive.

The technician came out of the lab, followed by Ric's doctor.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lansing," the doctor said. "The initial results were correct."

"I hope he's paid you well for your time, doctor," Nikolas said. "Because Mr. Lansing already knew that."

Ric nodded at the doctor. The doctor and the technician left.

"When you report back to Anthony Zacchara," Nikolas said to Ric, "tell him that if he lays so much as a finger on any member of my family, I will personally reach into his chest and pull out whatever is in the place where his heart is supposed to be."

With that, Nikolas left Ric and went to join Claudia and Jonah.

******************************************************************

Doctor's Office.

Jonah was asleep in Claudia's lap. Nikolas sat beside them. Dr. Christopoulos sat behind her desk.

"It shouldn't take too much longer," the doctor said.

Claudia nodded.

Nikolas' phone rang. "Excuse me," he said, rising and connecting with the call. "Cassadine. ... When? ... How many? .... You can call it in. But under no circumstances are they to be let any further into the island. Am I understood? ... Thank you." He hung up. He took his seat, looking grim.

Claudia felt like someone had walked over her grave. It had started.

"Just a few preliminary questions," Dr. Christopoulos said. "This is just a formality, you understand. I'm not saying that any of this will be important."

Nikolas took Claudia's hand. "We understand," he said.

"Where is Jonah's umbilical cord?"

"Discarded," Nikolas answered.

Claudia tightened her grip on his hand. He squeezed back.

"How many blood relations in the vicinity? Besides Mrs. Cassadine?"

"Two," Nikolas answered. "A cousin. And a half-sister."

"The cousin is too young," Claudia said. "Not even five. And the half-sister ... She might not want to--"

"Just preliminary questions," the doctor said again.

The lab technician entered the room. He handed a file to the doctor and left.

She opened the file and read the report. Dr. Christopoulos had thought she'd given nothing away, until she heard Mrs. Cassadine begin to cry.

Dr. Christopoulos looked up. "Mrs. Cassadine."

"Claudia," Nikolas said softly. He leaned in, brushing away her tears. And then he brushed his hand across the back of Jonah's head. He kissed the top of Jonah's head.

"I'm sorry," Claudia said.

"Mrs. Cassadine, under the circumstances, we're very lucky. You caught it at the very beginning. Now let's talk about what we can do."

******************************************************************

Before they even left Athens, the guards had had to disarm five men who attempted an attack outside the hospital. And there were two more on the boat. Added to the forty who had attempted to take the island by force during Jonah's exam, the head count was now 47. Nikolas was grateful that he had over-anticipated. Claudia was grateful that she'd gone along with Nikolas' preparations. Spencer and Jonah would have both been taken by now if they'd gone with her suggestions.

So far, there were no Cassadine casualties. But the Athens jail holding area was filling up.

*****************************************************************

Cassadine Island. Main House. Living Room. Night.

The Cassadine/Zacchara problem would have to wait. Nikolas and Claudia filled Alexis in on Jonah's situation.

"It's up to Kristina," Nikolas said.

Alexis nodded. "I think we should ask her now. Before her father becomes a possible influence."

The phone rang. Claudia immediately picked it up. "Cassadine," she said. "This is she. ... Yes. ... I understand. ... We will." She hung up. She looked at Nikolas. "I'm not a match," she said, starting to cry.

Nikolas hurried to her side.

"It's my fault," she said to him.

"No."

"When he was born, if I'd let Sonny --"

"No!"

"Nikolas," Alexis said. "Would you go get Kristina? I'd like to talk to Claudia."

Claudia eyed Alexis suspiciously.

Nikolas hesitated.

"It's okay," Alexis said. "Really. How much trouble can we get in while you're gone?"

He looked at Claudia. Claudia shrugged.

He kissed Claudia and left the room.

Alexis patted the couch next to her. Claudia narrowed her eyes, but sat down next to Alexis.

"Claudia, you don't know what would have happened if you'd let Sonny kill you and take Jonah. For all you know, Jonah would have lasted two weeks before your father had him snatched. He has a good life. He's where he should be."

"He's sick."

"Believe me, I've been where you are. With Kristina. No regrets. If you want to start in on regrets, wait until later. When there's time."

Claudia bowed her head. Alexis eyed her, and then, looking slightly repulsed, rubbed her back. Claudia shot her a look, and Alexis quickly removed her hand.

"Sorry," Alexis said. "It felt like I should right before I did it, but then it was just wrong."

"Do you ever stop talking?," Claudia asked.

Alexis silently gave Claudia a dispensation for abject fear and kept quiet.

"Mom?"

Kristina hovered in the doorway.

"Come in," Alexis said.

Kristina came in, followed by Nikolas.

"Have a seat," Alexis said.

"What did I do?," Kristina said.

"Nothing that I know of," Alexis said. "Have a seat."

Kristina sat down across from Alexis and Claudia.

"Kristina," Claudia said. "Jonah has been diagnosed with leukemia."

"Jonah? When the hell did that happen? We were just playing with him yesterday."

"Kristina!"

Claudia ignored Alexis and went on. "This morning."

"So what's going to happen?"

"They caught it very early. Which is good. But he's going to need a bone marrow transplant. I've been tested, but I'm not a match. So we entered his name and sample into a database. But --"

"I'll do it," Kristina said. "When can they take me?"

"If you're a match, there are things you'll have to --"

"I'll do it."

"Okay," said Claudia. "Thank you. Thank you."

**************************************************

But Kristina was not a match.

So Claudia and Nikolas did the only thing they could do.

They divided up their family.


	3. Chapter 3

Cassadine Island. Main House. Living Room.

Nikolas poured the tea.

"How much longer, do you think?," Claudia asked.

They were alone, waiting for Alexis.

Nikolas put down the tea, and turned to her. "We have to move soon. Maybe a few days, a week at most."

Claudia nodded. "Nikolas," she said. "I have to ask you something."

"All right."

"A few days ago, I felt like I had done -- did I do something wrong? Something wasn't right between us, and I don't want to leave things --"

"Girls are asleep," Alexis said, coming into the room. "We can start."

Claudia quickly turned away and composed herself.

"Did I interrupt something?," Alexis asked.

Claudia turned back around to face her. "It can wait. We should get started."

Nikolas served the tea. Claudia and Nikolas sat together on the couch. Alexis sat across from them.

"A year and a half ago," Nikolas began, "right before we got married, Helena contacted Anthony Zacchara."

"Helena visited Daddy in prison," Claudia clarified.

Alexis was speechless.

"There have been no further visits," Nikolas said, "but we believe they have been communicating through a Russian criminal syndicate, the Tartakov family, which has members in Pentonville."

"And you know this because..." Alexis' voice trailed off.

"Because of our Russian contacts from when we took Sonny down," Claudia answered.

Alexis dropped her tea cup. She went to pick it up.

"Leave it. We'll get you another," Nikolas said.

Claudia got up and poured another cup.

"Helena and Anthony Zacchara -- why?," Alexis asked.

"Why are they working together?," Nikolas asked.

"Yes."

Nikolas and Claudia exchanged a look.

_Here goes everything,_ Claudia thought. "They want the children."

Alexis got up, beginning to hyperventilate. Nikolas grabbed a paper bag from a drawer in the coffee table. He passed it to Alexis.

_That's_ why Nikolas kept paper bags in the coffee table drawer? Claudia rolled her eyes. Nikolas shot her a look.

"Oh God," Alexis said. "Oh God."

"Slow breaths," Nikolas said.

Claudia set the new cup of tea down in front of Alexis, and remained standing. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Claudia," Nikolas said.

"We don't have time for this," Claudia hissed.

Alexis lowered the bag. "I'm okay. Let's get through this."

"You sure?," Nikolas said.

"Yes." Alexis sat down.

Claudia sat down next to Nikolas again.

"Daddy thinks of Jonah as the only possible heir to the Zacchara business he intends to rebuild," Claudia said.

"And Spencer is the last of Nikolas' line," Alexis said.

At that, Nikolas looked extremely uncomfortable. Claudia rubbed his shoulder.

Alexis looked from Nikolas to Claudia. "What?"

"I'm pregnant," Claudia said.

"That's confidential information, Alexis," Nikolas quickly added. "No one can know."

"Alexis," Claudia said, drawing her attention back. "If this child is a boy, Daddy will want both of my biological sons. But whether it's a boy or a girl, Helena will want this child. She won't want Spencer anymore."

"Why?," Alexis said. Then a look a of realization hit her face. "Oh my God. This is the first legitimate child in The Cassadine's line."

"We believe the original plan was for Helena to take Spencer and my father to take Jonah. We believe that once they learn of the baby, the plan will shift. Daddy will take Jonah, and Helena will take the baby." Claudia deliberately didn't say what would happen to Spencer. Or Nikolas. Or Claudia.

"They won't get a chance," Nikolas said heatedly.

"But now that Jonah's sick...," Alexis began.

"Daddy won't care. He'll be hell-bent on taking Jonah no matter what."

Alexis looked away from Claudia. Denial was something that mothers sometimes needed. But the unspoken truth in the room was this: if Jonah died, Helena and Anthony would be locked in a battle for the baby. If it was a boy. Bur whether the baby turned out to be a boy or girl, Spencer would most likely be killed -- eliminated as a threat to the new child's rightful place in the Cassadine lineage. Nikolas and Claudia would also have to be killed.

"We always knew this was coming," Nikolas said softly. "So we had planned for every possibility. Every possibility we could think of."

"We knew if Ric came, he would be sent by Daddy," Claudia said. "We knew the paternity test was a ruse to ambush us."

"We had everything figured out. But Jonah's illness..."

"Jonah has to get to Port Charles," Claudia said. "We never planned on that. And we never planned on having to separate."

Another look of realization flickered across Alexis' face. "The pregnancy. You can't fly," she said to Claudia.

"Not yet."

"How much longer?"

"A little more than two weeks."

"With Anthony loose?"

"That's why I will have Spencer. And Nikolas will take Jonah to Port Charles."

****************************************************

The Shore of Cassadine Island.

Alexis and Nikolas walked along the beach.

"This is where we were married," Nikolas said. He glanced toward the cove.

"And what's that?," Alexis asked.

Nikolas just smiled. Then his smile faded. "Claudia's never been away from Jonah. Not for more than 24 hours. He loves me, but I'm going to be a poor substitute."

"I'm sure you'll do fine."

"She makes a game of it. When they're at a doctor's office. With Spencer too. When Spencer broke his arm last year, I was on a business trip. By the time I got to the hospital, Claudia and Spencer were trying to convince the doctor to glue the most vile internal organ photographs onto the cast." He stopped walking. Alexis stopped too, and looked at him. "It took me over a year to convince her it was safe to have a baby," he said. "She knew. She had thought it all out before I had brought it up."

"But she must have eventually agreed to it, Nikolas."

"She did. Because she wanted it. It's not difficult to manipulate someone into doing something they want to do. Day after day, their resistance withers away."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Claudia is hard to knock off course."

Nikolas was silent. He looked up at Alexis again.

"Do you think Sonny and his children will help Jonah?"

"I think with the way you and Claudia operate, that's the smallest obstacle you'll have to overcome. Piece of cake."

*****************************************************

Servant's Quarters. Cassadine Island.

Millicent unwrapped the towel from Claudia's hair. "What do you think, ma'am?"

Claudia looked in the mirror. "I think you should give up cooking and go into hair full-time."

"No, ma'am."

Claudia's hair had been lightened a few shades. And a few inches had been knocked off. Even while it was still wet, it was beginning to curl. If you squinted, she looked Greek. Of course, one more week out in the sun would darken her skin enough to help the illusion along.

Claudia looked down at her engagement and wedding rings.

"Ma'am?"

The tan would be useless if there were tell-tale pale marks where the rings had been. Claudia took off her rings. She held them out to Millicent.

"You're certain?"

"Yes."

Millicent took the rings.

Claudia wasn't prepared for how vulnerable she felt without them. She had only one more night with Nikolas to re-assure her. She hoped it would be enough.

********************************************************

Cassadine Island. Main House. Jonah's Bedroom.

"Open the door, please," Spencer commanded the guard outside Jonah's door.

Spencer's guard and Jonah's guard exchanged a look, and Spencer was let into the room.

Spencer closed the door quietly behind him.

He crept over to the crib.

"Amico," he whispered. "Jonah."

Jonah's eyes fluttered open. "Ped," he said.

"Here," Spencer said. He held out the small toy Giacchi fire truck that Claudia had given him so long ago.

Jonah smiled and pulled himself up to a standing position using the bars of the crib. He took the Giacchi.

"It says 'Spencer' on the bottom, but it's yours now."

Jonah reached out through the bars of the crib and pulled Spencer to him. Spencer kissed him through the bars.

"You're a big boy now, Jonah. 'Til Mommy and me get back to you, you take care of Daddy. Okay?"

Jonah began to chew the Giacchi.

Spencer was exceedingly pained watching the bottom of his beloved fire truck get wet, but he smiled through it.

******************************************************

Cassadine. The Cove.

Nikolas came into the cove.

"Just in case you ever wondered what it would be like to be with a woman from the village," Claudia said.

He smiled. "You still have your voice."

"What are you going to do?," she shrugged. "Some things can't be helped. Look." She held up the empty fingers of her left hand. She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

He hurried to her side and brushed away a falling tear.

"You've made me weak, Cassadine."

He laughed. "Impossible." He kissed her. He pulled back. "I'd forgotten."

"What it's like to kiss me? Or the village women?"

"You taste different when you're pregnant."

"I do?"

"Yes."

"Better? Worse?"

"Just different. I should have guessed before you told me."

"You were mad at me."

Nikolas went silent.

"Please, Nikolas. I'm begging you: if I did something wrong, please tell me what it was."

"You didn't do anything."

"Do you...?"

Her voice cracked, and he looked up sharply. "What?"

He'd never seen her so vulnerable before. "I know," she said in a wavering voice, "that you're a gentleman. And that this would be -- I don't know -- an _unseemly_ time to tell me something like this, but if you..." Her voice trailed off, and she swallowed hard. "This past week, I've been confused. Sometimes you look at me like you've never loved me more, but sometimes you look like..."

"Like what?"

"Like you don't love me." She turned away from him. Her voice became steadier as she went on. "Right now, the kids are the most important thing. And I know that you would kill yourself before telling me you fell out of love right after I got pregnant. But I don't want to go through the next few months, or however long this will all take, not knowing --"

Nikolas grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around. He kissed her. After a moment, she responded passionately. He lifted her up, and then gently lowered her to the sand.

He pulled back. "I love you," he said. "Always."

"Then what?" she asked, tracing his cheek with the tips of her fingers. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said, kissing her again. "Nothing."

************************************************************

Cassadine Island. Main House. Jonah's Bedroom. Morning.

Jonah was dressed in his favorite little sailor outfit, steadying himself by holding on to his mother.

Claudia, kneeling in front of him on the floor, finished brushing his hair.

"Let me see," she said. Jonah took one wobbly step back and smiled at her. "Perfect! Very handsome."

He toddled over to his crib and reached through the bars, picking up something.

"What's that, piccolo?"

Jonah held out the Giacchi.

"That's one of Spencer's toys. Did he say you could play with it?"

"I gave it to him," Spencer said from the doorway.

Nikolas and Spencer came into the room.

Nikolas and Claudia looked at each other. They nodded.

"All right," Nikolas said. "Everyone down on the floor for a Cassadine family meeting."

All four sat down on the round rug in the center of the room. Jonah played with his truck.

Nikolas looked at Claudia, and she began. "Nobody wants to be away from anybody else. But we have a few adventures to go on, and we can't go on them together."

"Why not?," Spencer asked. "I still don't understand."

"I need to take Jonah to Port Charles," Nikolas said. "So that he can get help."

"What kind of help?"

Claudia lifted Jonah onto her lap, and gently pulled his shirt sleeve up. She pointed to the bruise on his arm. "This shouldn't have happened," she said. "Something funny's going on with Jonah's blood. But they found it early and they can fix it. In Port Charles."

"Why can't we all go to Port Charles?"

"Mommy can't fly, Spencer," Nikolas said.

"Why?"

"Because a doctor said she can't."

"Something's a little funny with me right now too, amico," Claudia said to Spencer. "And as soon as the doctor says it's okay, we will fly to Port Charles." Claudia looked pointedly at Jonah, and then looked at Spencer again. "Και μια φορά ο μπαμπάς και Jonah άδεια, θα εξηγήσω τα πάντα. Εντάξει;" _And once Daddy and Jonah leave, I will explain everything. Okay?_

Spencer slowly nodded. "Εντάξει." _Okay_.

"Thank you," Claudia said.

Nikolas checked his watch. "Claudia," he said.

"Okay," she said. She turned Jonah around on her lap so he was facing her. "I will miss you _so_ much, piccolo." She kissed him. "I promise to think about you every day." Jonah looked worried. "When I see you again, you will tell me all about your adventure with Daddy, okay?"

Jonah smiled at Claudia.

"You're going to see more doctors and it's going to smell funny where you're going, and you're going to have a few more needles and it's going to hurt. But you'll also have Daddy with you, and he's big and strong, and he'll help you, just like I help you when we're here." She leaned in and whispered, "And you can pinch him too, if you want to." She pulled back and looked him in the eye. "I love you so much, Jonah. You look at the moon tonight, and I'll look at the moon tonight, and we'll send each other messages through the moon. Okay?"

Jonah held out his arms. Claudia pulled him to her, and they hugged.

"Spencer," Nikolas said softly. "Come here."

Spencer scooted over to Nikolas.

"I love you," Nikolas said. "And I'm going to miss you too. Very much. I don't want to leave you." He leaned in and whispered in Spencer's ear. "Am I embarrassing you?"

"No," Spencer said. "I love you too." He hugged Nikolas.

Nikolas, Claudia and Spencer stood up, Claudia holding Jonah in her arms.

Claudis kissed the top of Jonah's head. She turned him around, and Nikolas reached for him. Jonah held out his arms to Nikolas, saying, "Dada."

Nikolas took Jonah from Claudia.

"Wait," Spencer said. "Let me talk to him."

Nikolas put Jonah down on the floor. Jonah held out his arms. The boys hugged. Spencer pulled back and smiled. He ruffled Jonah's hair. "Remember: you're a big boy now."

Jonah smiled.

They looked so much like brothers, it was hard to believe -- until you remembered that they were biological cousins. But that wasn't what truly sealed the resemblance. It was the tilt of the head. The connection in their eyes. Their laughter.

Nikolas and Claudia looked at each other, both with eyes more than a little watery.

Nikolas picked Jonah up again. Claudia held out her hand, and Spencer joined her, taking it.

Nikolas headed for the door. He stopped as he reached Claudia, and leaned over, kissing her.

"I love you," she said. "Be careful."

"You too." He saw her face fall. He leaned in and looked her in the eye. "Claudia. I love you too." He kissed her again.

He quickly left.

Claudia burst into tears.

"Claudee?," Spencer said.

"Ah-ah," Claudia said, drying her tears. "Mama. Από εδώ και πέρα μιλάμε στην ελληνική γλώσσα. Κατάλαβες;" _Mama. From now on, we speak in Greek. Understand?_

Spencer looked at her curiously, and then slowly nodded. "Ναι, μαμά." _Yes, Mom._

Claudia pulled Spencer to her, hugging him. "Σε αγαπώ." _ I love you._

Claudia made a mental note: no more crying in front of Spencer. Time to be the adult.

****************************************

As soon as the plane was in the air, Jonah looked around, searching.

"Mama?," he called out.

Nikolas quickly unbuckled his own seatbelt, and knelt in front of Jonah. "Mommy's not here, Jonah. Do you want to sit with me?"

Jonah's face fell. He looked around one more time. And then he began to cry.

"Jonah?"

Jonah looked at Nikolas and held out his arms. "Dada." Nikolas lifted him up and carried him back to Nikolas' seat.

He sat down with Jonah in his arms, rocking him, as Jonah sobbed, "Mama" over and over again.

The guards in the back seats stoically pretended not to notice. Molly covered her ears with her hands, but Alexis and Kristina were transfixed as they watched Nikolas, kissing the top of Jonah's head, murmuring soothing words that no one else could understand.

Jonah quieted down, and reached for Nikolas' lips. And as Nikolas kissed Jonah's fingertips, Alexis wasn't sure, but she thought she saw his eyes fill with tears.

"I pirata ballano," Nikolas began to sing.

**********************************************

Servant's Quarter's. Cassadine Island.

Millicent unwrapped the towel from Spencer's hair. His hair color now matched Claudia's.

Claudia and Spencer looked into the mirror together.

"Yuck," Spencer said.

"Το ξέρω. Δεν είναι η ωραιότερη χρώμα. Αλλά τώρα περνάμε μία εβδομάδα παίζει στον ήλιο. Και τότε θα αφήσουμε," Claudia said. _I know. It is not the prettiest color. But now we spend a week playing in the sun. And then we leave._

"Πού πάμε;" _Where are we going?_

"Ah," Claudia answered. "Θα σας αρέσει αυτό." _You'll like this._


	4. Chapter 4

General Hospital. Front Entrance. Afternoon.

Considering the way that Jonah had exited the hospital the last time he had been there, his re-entrance was a study in contrasts.

Nikolas strode in through the front doors, his son in his arms. He was not only surrounded by the men he had brought with him from Greece, but Ned had also arranged for additional protection once they landed. None of that compared to what Mac Scorpio had put together. The Port Charles Police Department was treating Jonah's visit as if the littlest Cassadine was a head of state. And yet the little boy for whom all of this had been arranged was fast asleep, worn out from crying and the flight, yes, but mostly -- Nikolas was trying to keep this thought at bay -- worn out from the battle his body was beginning to wage against his illness.

For a year and a half, Claudia and Nikolas had prepared for the inevitable. She went along with his elaborate contingency plans, with the piles of different currencies stashed around the world and the safe houses bought and kept for worst case scenarios. He reluctantly learned how to fire a weapon, and how to recognize and initiate dozens of signals between two people who might be in a situation where they might not be able to speak freely. Nikolas and Claudia were very good at preparing for the inevitable. But not the unspeakable.

The head of the hospital met them before they even reached the reception area.

Monica kissed Nikolas' cheek. "This way," she said, leading him to the elevator. "Where's Claudia?"

At the sound of his mother's name, Jonah awakened and looked around. "Mama?," he said sleepily.

Nikolas kissed the top of Jonah's head. "She can't be here yet," he said to Monica. "I'll explain once we reach your office."

*********************************************

Elizabeth and Matt's House.

Liz passed Cameron and Jake as they ran out of the kitchen. "What did I miss?," she asked Matt.

"There's a plate in the oven for you." Matt said, downing the last of his coffee.

"Thanks." She eyed him, taking in his suit and tie. "I thought you had today off."

"Change of plans. I'll explain later." He put his empty mug in the sink, fervently hoping that lying by omission wasn't a relationship deal-breaker. Over a year into this thing, and he still wasn't sure how it worked. On his way out, he kissed Liz as he passed her. "And don't worry -- Cameron set the table. The fork is exactly where it should be."

Elizabeth glanced down at the table, impressed with Cameron's handy-work.

*********************************************

General Hospital. Monica's Office.

Nikolas and Monica sat across from each other, while Jonah napped in Nikolas' lap.

"You need to be prepared for what Claudia is in store for when she finally arrives," Monica said. "And now this. If no one knows why Claudia isn't here while her little boy is in trouble, people are going to assume the worst."

"We don't care."

"You need to care, Nikolas."

"I'm not concerned with the small-mindedness that runs rampant in this town. No one can know that Claudia is pregnant. She knows that. She's the one who insisted upon it. If anyone finds out that she's pregnant, Spencer could die. End of story. We don't care how we're judged. When this is over, we'll all go back home together. That's all Claudia needs to know."

"I'm on your side," Monica said, gently. "But you need to be prepared. The people you are asking for help still think of Jonah's mother as someone who almost murdered one of their own."

"I can't help that."

"Yes, you can."

Monica smiled kindly at Nikolas. He would always be her son-in-law, the boy who had won Emily's heart for life.

"Pick your battles," she said. "Your biggest battle is the one with cancer. Don't get thrown off course."

*********************************************

Cassadine Island. The Cove.

The horses had been transported off the island and were being brought to a safe location. Spencer had been full of questions as he and Claudia watched each horse led below the boat deck. But Claudia had wanted him to enjoy one last free and easy day of childhood at the beach with his mother, so she told him she'd answer his questions later.

They'd had dinner. The sun had gone down. It was later.

"I don't remember her," Spencer said. They were talking about Helena.

"Well, be very happy about that. She's a terrible person. And my father is too."

"Why?," Spencer asked.

Claudia looked at Spencer, marveling at how much he had grown as a person since she'd known him. And admiring the start of his tan. With any luck, they wouldn't need the whole week. "Amico, I have to tell you some things that most grown-ups would think were wrong to tell kids."

"I'm not a kid."

"You know what? In a lot of ways, you're very grown up. But in some ways -- in all the best ways -- you're not. And I'm a little afraid to ruin all that. No good person would. But, to tell you the truth, I'm not a very nice person."

Spencer's eyes widened. "Yes, you are."

"I'm nice with you, and with Daddy, and with Jonah. But before I met you all, I wasn't very nice. And I still can be pretty bad when I want to be. That's something I shouldn't tell you either. Because most kids would take that as an excuse to get all nasty around me."

Spencer lay down flat on the sand, looking up into the night sky.

"Spence?"

"You're a nice person."

"I don't want to argue with you. So let's just say that you're free to change your mind later on. Now. Remember Costas?"

Spencer got a look of extreme distaste on his face. "Yes," he said.

When Spencer had reached the age of four, Claudia and Nikolas had sent him to a sort of pre-school in the village. Twice a week. It was the first time Spencer had been around children his age. And granted, Spencer was not like most boys his age. He was multi-lingual. He was a little over-bearing. And he was a little bit of a know-it-all. All of those things had been tempered by putting him with children of his own age. He learned to concentrate on one language, instead of flitting back and forth during one conversation. He learned to take turns. And he learned to mostly share his knowledge when it was appropriate. All good things. And it all would have been fine, except for one other little boy at the school. Costas.

Claudia had never verbalized her thoughts to Nikolas, but she believed Costas was evil. A demon child, if you will. Once she'd conducted her own personal quiet investigation of the child she was certain of it. He was the child version of her father, without the money and power. A bully. And he'd been able to bully everyone. Until Spencer arrived. Spencer was bigger and stronger than Costas. And he didn't back down. And he only used force if someone attacked him. All those things served to turn things around at the little pre-school.

Well, that and the fact that when Costas' parents came to Claudia to complain, Nikolas had been away on a business trip. So instead of meeting Claudia Cassadine, Costas' parents had encountered Claudia Zacchara. And Claudia Zacchara had let them know the jig was up.

_"I understand how difficult it must be to control a child who is so charismatic," she said, using her most charming smile, and her fluent Greek. "But make no mistake. I have contacts in Athens. And if my child comes home with one more bruise from a fight that your child initiated, there will be an investigation. Not into my child's bruise, you understand, but into the kittens that have been found strangled in the village for the past two years." With that, Claudia took a sip of coffee. "I believe in protecting my own," Claudia said. "And 'my own' includes the people of this village. I hope Costas can be included in that, but I'm experienced enough to know that some things must sometimes change. How can we make sure that things don't change?"_

Costas' parents had left Cassadine Island humbled.

Within two months, Costas had acted again. He had stolen Spencer's favorite toy, a Giacchi jet plane. After a schoolmate snitched, it was found, virtually untouched, in a box buried in Costas' family's garden. A minor offense, so Claudia had let it go.

One month later, Claudia suspected that that was not the worst of what Costas had done. For after six months of cajoling Nikolas, she'd finally convinced him to get Spencer a puppy, whom Spencer had named Apollo. When the puppy went missing during a field trip to the village, Claudia had gone back to the village alone that night. She never told Nikolas or Spencer, but she had found Apollo strangled. Claudia took Apollo back to Cassadine Island that night and quietly buried him in the olive grove. When Spencer awoke the next day, she told him that Apollo had been hit by a car. And they made a grave marker for the puppy. And Spencer mourned his first pet.

And then Claudia paid a visit to Costas' parents. And the family had moved from the village within the week.

The day after they left, Claudia had met her first female friend, when Talia, a woman of the village, the mother of a classmate of Spencer, had come over to the Island with some baklava. As the children ran off to play on the beach, Talia had looked at Claudia, and Claudia had looked at Talia, and with a few carefully chosen words, they both knew that Talia knew what Claudia had done. And three months later, when Claudia knew she could trust Talia enough to share why she had done it, Talia had kept quiet. And had given Claudia a Greek talisman of the Three Graces.

"Can you keep a secret?," Claudia asked Spencer.

"Yes."

"Who have you kept a secret for?"

"You."

"You have?"

"You told me I would always be your first little boy. And that you would love Jonah just as much as me, but never more."

"That's right. I did. How'd I do with that?"

"Good. I kept your secret," Spencer reminded her.

"Okay," Claudia said. "Okay. Two things. One is that when Costas took your plane, he did not take it to play with it. So why do you think he took it?"

Spencer was quiet for a long time. Claudia let him puzzle it out. It was a little too psychologically intense for an almost five year-old, but she let him take his time to try.

"So that I couldn't have it."

"Very good. Why else?"

More silence.

"So that no one else could have it."

"Better. Why else?"

Spencer sat up, scowling at her.

Claudia laughed. "I know, I'm being very hard on you, amico, but you're one smart kid. You'll get it."

The longest silence yet.

"Oh."

"What is it?"

"To show everyone that he could have it."

"Well, he only told the one other kid, you know."

Spencer slapped his palm against his forehead, like the people in the V-8 commercials.

"Careful, pirata. I don't want you hurting yourself."

"To _know_ that he could have it!"

"Very, very good. And that, my friend, is your grandmother and my father." Claudia grimaced, knowing that she was now going to take away a little of Spencer's childhood. This hadn't been pre-approved by Nikolas, but she really couldn't see any other way around it. "Come here, Spencer."

Spencer came closer. Claudia lifted him up onto her lap.

"I know you're too big for this, but sometimes even I need Daddy's lap. And I think you'll need a lap. Because I need to talk to you about Apollo."

*******************************************

General Hospital. The Hallway Outside of Monica Quartermaine's Office.

When a man has had everything, and lost nearly everything, a schism develops between that man and the world. He is forever judged in the context of that loss. He is described to new people in the context of that loss. And even though that man may reinvent himself, no matter how successful he is afterwards, he is haunted by that loss from time to time.

Until Nikolas and Claudia had made his world crumble, Sonny had thought of himself as smart. You didn't get to scale the heights he'd achieved without being smart. It was why he demanded all of his wives and children to yield to his every demand and whim. Because he knew better. Even with Claudia, who had grown up in the business, he had made sure that he was the one who ultimately called the shots. He considered her advice, but in the end, he made up his own mind. So in addition to all of the property and relationships and respect Sonny had lost, he had also lost something crucial to his line of work: his confidence.

In the old days, he would have hung up on Nikolas Cassadine when the spoiled aristocrat had called to tell him Anthony Zacchara was loose. These days, he said an abrupt "Thanks" and hung up. In the old days, he would have demanded that Dr. Quartermaine tell him why she wanted to meet. These days, he figured she had a reason for keeping quiet and he'd find out soon enough.

The policemen hanging around the hospital entrances had thrown him off. And all these big guys hanging around the administrative floor -- they looked like a security detail.

Sonny paused outside the door to Monica's office. No matter what the subject, the upcoming conversation with Monica was probably not going to be a good one.

She'd been real mysterious on the phone. Wouldn't say if it was about Michael. Or Jason. Just told him it was important.

Better get it over with.

Sonny opened the door. Nikolas Cassadine was inside.

*******************************************

General Hospital. Examination Room.

Matt used a tongue depressor to look down Jonah's throat.

"Say aaaahhhhhhhh!," he said.

"Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!," Jonah said.

"Very good. Way cool."

"Aaaghhh."

"Right. Need to take the thing out, huh?"

Matt took the depressor out and was rewarded with a sweet smile.

Monica couldn't help smiling as she watched. Finally, one of those mob idiots had done the right thing. Mob idiot meaning Claudia. And it had taken Michael's shooting to get her to do it. Sonny had been quick to let Monica know exactly who she'd saved once he saw her signature on Claudia's Will.

Monica had been furious, felt used, for months afterward. But then she had time to think. To remember the look on Claudia's face when Monica had thrown Michael's name in her face at Alexis' office. And to remember exactly what the Will had been for. In case of Claudia's death.

_"What does she plan on doing if she lives?," _ Monica had asked. Exactly what Monica had wanted all of them to do, it turned out. Only Sonny, Carly and Jason weren't capable of that kind of growth as human beings. Apparently, Claudia was.

"What's this?," Matt said, pointing to a bruise on Jonah's arm.

"Uh-oh!"

Matt and Monica laughed. Claudia and Nikolas had done well. The rest was up to Sonny and his children. Monica hoped they could be counted on.

**************************************************

Carly and Jax's House.

The doorbell rang.

"Just a minute!," Carly called out.

Carly finished dumping the last of the toys back into the toy chest. She went to the front door. And opened it to find Lulu.

When she went to shut the door in Lulu's face, Lulu shoved her foot in the door.

***************************************************

FBI Outpost. Upstate New York Border.

There was a knock on Agent Falconeri's door.

"Yeah?," he said.

The door opened, and Jason Morgan's girlfriend walked in.

Dante got up, and started shooing her out. "No, no. I can't do this. I've been in Siberia ever since the Corinthos thing, and I can't --"

Sam shoved him back into the room, shutting the door behind her.

"This is not about Sonny. Or Jason. This is about your littlest brother."

***************************************************

General Hospital. Monica Quartermaine's Office.

Sonny came in, shutting the door behind him.

"This about Anthony?," he said.

"No," Nikolas said. "This is about Jonah."

"Jonah." The name on Claudia's Will. The name of Sonny's youngest child.

Nikolas watched a dozen expressions play over Sonny's face.

"Talk," Sonny said.

There was a phrase that Claudia had taught Nikolas, something they were supposed to use to communicate in front of an enemy. Nikolas had found it funny. It was not the sort of phrase he used easily. So it became a joke between the two of them. The way it was _supposed_ to be used was this: an enemy is forcing your hand, so you can't let on in an obvious way that you're being coerced...

_"Your grandmother," Claudia had said, "has a knife pressed up against my back. You might not be able to see the knife. You might not be able to see your grandmother. But at some point, Helena is going to make me do something I'd never do. And if she wants Spencer, believe me, it's going to be something that goes against my grain. I can't say, 'Hey, Nik, Grandma's got a knife at my back,' because that will get someone killed. So whatever she asks me to do, I do it. And if you challenge me, I say, 'You got a problem with that?' And you'll know something's wrong."_

_"Well, that may be fine for you, but I can't say that," Nikolas said._

_"Why not?"_

_"Well, for one thing, it's grammatically incorrect."_

At that, Claudia screamed. And dropped the subject. But for months afterward, Nikolas would insert the phrase into every conversation they had, just to prove how ridiculous it sounded coming from him. _"Forgive me, Claudia," he'd say. "I can't take Spencer to the village today. I got a problem with that." _ At first she was furious with him for mocking her. But after awhile, it made her laugh. Because he was right: Nikolas was not the kind of man who "got a problem with that."

Until now. He got a problem with letting Sonny back into their lives. Claudia had said he would. He'd told her he could handle it. He was wrong. He "got a problem with that." He struggled not to let it show.

"Jonah's sick," Nikolas said.

Sonny's face fell. He felt weak. He sank down into a chair. "How?"

"Leukemia. It's an early stage. It's almost unheard of to find it this early, but Claudia's very protective of --"

"I don't want to hear about Claudia," Sonny scowled.

Nikolas shoved his fists into his pockets to avoid reaching for Sonny's throat. And tried to remember some of the control that came from Tai Chi. "I'm sorry, Sonny," he said, "but if you're going to see Jonah, you're going to hear about Claudia. Prepare yourself."

"He's here?" The moment Sonny had thought would never come. Jonah. His son. Right here. Now. Finally. Mike had visited Spencer in Greece. Had seen Jonah. Had described him to Sonny. But the Cassadines were taking no chances. There were no photographs ever taken of the children.

"Yes."

Sonny felt his blood coursing through his veins. "What do you need?"

"We need to find a bone marrow transplant donor. Claudia didn't match. Neither did Kristina. Will you take the test?"

*****************************************************

General Hospital. Examination Room.

Mike rolled up his sleeve while Jonah watched from a nearby table.

Matt would have preferred not have Jonah there, but Dr. Quartermaine said it would be okay. She said that Nikolas needed to talk to Sonny away from Jonah. And that Mike was Jonah's grandfather. They knew each other. Jonah would be comfortable.

"Do you remember me, Jonah?," Mike asked.

Jonah looked Mike, confused.

"It's Grandpa."

"Ciao," Jonah said.

Matt took out the needle and put it into Mike's vein.

"Uh-oh!," Jonah said.

"Uh-oh!," Matt repeated. "You have this done before, Jonah?"

Jonah touched the balloon bandaid inside his elbow.

Mike looked over at Monica. "I've been to visit. Beautiful place. Spencer's very happy."

"Ped."

"That's right, Jonah. You were calling him Ped when I visited."

Jonah held out his Giacchi fire truck.

"And that's Spencer's truck."

"Yes."

"He must like you a lot to let you have it."

"Yes."

With any luck, Monica thought, they'll all be back together soon.

******************************************************

Carly and Jax's House.

Lulu had managed to fight her way into the house. She was now sitting on the couch, refusing to leave.

"You can sit here until Jax comes to throw you out, but I'm not doing a thing for Claudia Zacchara or her spawn."

The cousins had had a complete meltdown of their relationship once Carly found out that Lulu had helped Claudia and Johnny skip town. And Carly was even more furious when Lulu didn't have the expected reaction to finding out Claudia had been responsible for Michael's shooting. There were very few intermediaries in the family anymore, or else this might have been smoothed over sooner. As it was, the cousins kept a wide berth of each other. Until now.

"He's a year and a half old. And it's not your decision. It's Morgan's."

"Morgan is a sweet-tempered, sympathetic boy. Of course, he's going to want to help. And then what? What happens when his brother -- his brother _Michael_ finds out?"

"Jonah is a sweet, sensitive boy too. And you don't have a lock on twisted family emergencies, Carly."

"My son getting shot is not a twisted family emergency!"

"No. It's a horrible accident. That no one wanted to happen. And now you're going to let another child die because of it?"

"That's not what I'm saying."

"Then what are you saying?"

"That you don't get to do the things that Claudia has done, and walk away."

Lulu threw her hands up in frustration.

*************************************************************

FBI Outpost. Upstate New York Border.

Dante leaned against his desk.

"It might take awhile for me to get some time off, even if it is a family emergency," he said. "How bad is it?"

"It's an early stage," Sam said, "but that's not the end of it."

"What do you mean?"

"Anthony Zacchara was let out on parole this week."

"Oh God," Dante said.

"That kid is screwed whether he lives or dies," Sam said. "Unless everybody pitches in."

*************************************************************

Cassadine Island. Main House. Spencer's Bedroom.

Claudia finished tucking Spencer in.

"No more stories. It's very late, and I don't want you having any nightmares. Your father would be very angry with me for telling you everything I told you."

"Why did you tell me?"

"Because you're very brave. And very loyal. And there are some people you have to be careful with. No matter how much it goes against your bravery or loyalty." Claudia sat down next to Spencer. "Let's talk about something good."

Spencer yawned and then made a show of thinking intently. "Is the new baby a boy or a girl?"

"We don't know yet."

"What do you want?"

"I want who ever shows up. Why? What do you want?"

"I think it would be good to have a girl. And then another girl."

Claudia cracked up. "Wow. You're really into me popping out kids, huh?

"I just want to make it even. Two boys, two girls."

Claudia leaned down and kissed Spencer's forehead.

"Does Jonah know about the new baby?"

"No. Only us. And Daddy. And Aunt Alexis." Claudia stood up. "I'm going to sleep in here tonight," she said. "Just in case."

"A sleepover with just two people?"

"Exactly."

"Okay. 'Night."

"Good night, amico. Sleep tight." She kissed him on the forehead again, and then went over to a small cot across the room from him. She slipped off her shoes. Pulled down the covers. Got in. Waited.

She waited for Spencer's eyes to close. For his breath to become slow and even.

Then she got up and locked the windows and doors. She went back to the cot. She removed the gun from her thigh holster and put it on top of her pillow, at the ready. And she sat down on the cot, eyes open, watching and waiting, fingering the talisman around her neck.

***************************************************************

General Hospital. Examination Room.

Nikolas stopped Sonny before he entered the room, glancing at the security detail on either side of the door.

"Get your hands off me," Sonny said.

Nikolas backed off, but did not move away from the door. "I just want to tell you about Jonah before you go in. He's very quiet. Sensitive. Good-natured. He loves his mother. Has never spent a day away from her. Or his brother. And now he's been away from both. And me -- while I've been talking to you. Just -- he'll like you if you're quiet and nice. But if he gets upset, it probably has nothing to do with you. And he'll get more upset if he thinks he's upset you. Because he's so sensitive. Understand?"

"I have kids, Nikolas."

Nikolas studied Sonny. In the end, Sonny would do what he always did. Which was whatever he wanted to do. Nikolas had no choice. He opened the door. And Sonny saw Jonah for the first time.


	5. Chapter 5

General Hospital. Matt's Office.

As soon as the door opened, Jonah's face lit up. He smiled. At Nikolas.

"Have you had a good visit, piccolo?," Nikolas asked.

Sonny slowly came into the room, staring at Jonah. There was no doubt who the father of this baby was. He had Sonny's dimples.

Jonah held out his arms to Nikolas.

"All right," Nikolas said, picking him up. "Jonah? This is Sonny."

Jonah looked at Sonny. Sonny smiled. Jonah's eyes widened. He reached toward Sonny's face.

Sonny shook his head, not understanding.

"He wants you to come closer," Nikolas said, his heart breaking.

Sonny bent his face toward Jonah. Jonah poked his fingers into where Sonny's dimples had been. Sonny smiled.

"Yeah," he said. "Just like yours, little man."

Jonah laughed and smiled again. Claudia had reminded Nikolas that the last time they had all been together, Sonny had held a gun to his head.

Sonny looked at Nikolas. "Can I hold him?"

Nikolas' blood started to boil. _Of course,_ he mentally answered. _ Would you like to kill the child's mother before, or after?_ Instead, he said, "Jonah? Sonny's going to take you for a little while."

And Nikolas carefully handed Jonah to Sonny. Nikolas wished now more than ever that Claudia were with him. Somehow he became Mr. Rational whenever she was in the room. Probably just to balance things out.

Matt gestured Nikolas over. Nikolas went over to Matt's side, keeping a close watch on Jonah and Sonny.

"We tested Mike Corbin. We should have the results in about an hour."

"Ciao," Jonah said to Sonny.

Sonny smiled again, drinking in as much of his son as he could. Claudia's mouth. His own dimples. And there was something about his personality...

"I'll call you for the results," Nikolas said.

"We also gave Jonah a thorough exam," Matt continued. "Just to measure against the baseline from Greece."

"How is he?"

"There are some discrepancies, but Dr. Quartermaine's consulting with a specialist right now. Would you like to contact pediatrics directly? There's a --"

"No," Nikolas said. "We have to keep this quiet."

"Ciao," Jonah said again.

"You speak Italian, huh?," Sonny said.

"Ciao."

"Hello, piccolo," Nikolas said.

Jonah laughed, pleased.

"Jonah would like you to say hello, Sonny," Nikolas explained, with a little bit of an edge.

"Oh," Sonny said. "Hello."

"Ciao."

"Look at that," Sonny said. "He's not even two, and he speaks two languages."

"Mr. Corinthos," Matt interrupted, before steam started coming out of Nikolas' ears. "We should really get your test started."

"What?," Sonny said, distracted. "Yeah. Sure, sure."

Sonny turned Jonah around so that he was facing Nikolas.

Jonah held out his arms. "Dada."

Sonny's face darkened. Nikolas quickly took Jonah.

"Right this way, Mr. Corinthos," Matt said, holding the door open.

Sonny headed for the door. He gave a backward glance at Jonah, saying "Bye, bye." Then he looked at Nikolas and said, "Don't let Anthony know he speaks Italian."

Sonny left.

"Let's go to Uncle Lucky's, Jonah. I need a shower," Nikolas said.

*****************************************

Cassadine Island. Main House. Cassadine Island. Morning.

Claudia had checked in with the airport again.

It was too soon.

Nikolas had said he would send the airplane back as soon as there was a donor match. Claudia kept checking in with the airport. She knew she was being irritating, but she was going out of her mind with no phone contact.

She lifted up Jonah's pillow and breathed in the smell.

This was insane. Not only was she in agony over her child's health and not being there, but the one person who helped her hold things together was gone.

"Mama?," Spencer said from the doorway.

Claudia turned around.

"Talia είναι εδώ." _Talia is here._

Talia came into the room, extending a folded piece of paper toward Claudia. "Αυτό μόλις ήρθε. Από Αμερική." _ This just came. From America._

*******************************************

Lucky Spencer's house. Guest Room. Night.

Nikolas watched Jonah sleep.

Bloodlines.

Jonah's first word had been "Mama." He'd first pulled himself to his feet in front of Spencer. But his first smile -- his first _real_ smile, given in exchange, had been given to Nikolas.

Nikolas had been building a crib in the baby's bedroom while Jonah watched. And he was babbling -- Nikolas, not Jonah. About the animal paintings that lined the top of the crib. About how he had lied to Claudia -- Nikolas had never put together any piece of furniture by himself, and thought the instructions were written for some strange combination of half-wt and genius. They'd marked the slots "A" and "B" but the different screws didn't resemble anything in the illustrations.

Jonah had quietly listened, and watched from his cradle. Occasionally making sympathetic sounds in response to Nikolas. Halfway through, Nikolas had decided he'd had enough for now, and put down the Allen wrench. He went over to the cradle and said that Daddy and Jonah were going to take a break and take a trip to the stables to visit some real animals. "Don't tell Mommy," he'd said conspiratorially to Jonah. And then he smiled. And Jonah had smiled in return, reaching up for Nikolas.

Nikolas ran through the house calling for Claudia. And Jonah had miraculously repeated the smile for her.

That was the sort of thing that was supposed to count the most. But Nikolas would have given up the smile, or anything else of the life he'd shared with Jonah, if it meant that he could give his bone marrow to Jonah. He would have even given the smile to Sonny.

There was a soft knock on the bedroom door.

Lulu.

"He's asleep," Nikolas said.

Lulu came in and hugged Nikolas tightly. "How is he?"

Nikolas was silent. Then he said, simply, "Tired."

Lulu pulled back.

"What happened?," Nikolas said.

"Carly's a tough sell. I'll keep trying. What happened at the hospital?"

Nikolas whipped his head around to look at the clock.

He picked up the land line phone and dialed.

"It's Nikolas Cassadine. ... I understand. ... Thank you."

He hung up.

"No match," he said.

"I'm sorry," Lulu said.

"At least he doesn't have to see Sonny again," Nikolas said. "Small consolation."

********************************************

Cassadine Island. Main House. Jonah's Bedroom.

Claudia sat down in the rocking chair.

Talia and Spencer watched her open the folded piece of paper.

Nikolas had tried to be discreet. The email was written in Albanian, a language she despised, but that was very obscure to most human beings.

On their plane ride to Athens from the Dominican Republic before they were married, Claudia and Nikolas had joked about which languages they would have gladly given up for a friend. Nikolas had chosen Latin. Claudia had chosen Albanian. Which had led Nikolas to remark that Albanian was so obscure that he used to use it with his Uncle Stefan, since it was a language they knew Helena didn't understand. In fact, it was obscure to almost everyone except Albanians and people from Northern Greece. And Italian mobsters. Which made Claudia fervently hope that her father had not intercepted this message.

Translated, Nikolas' email read:

_Dear Claudia, _

_No news yet. Mike has been tested, and Sonny has agreed to be tested. You were right. There are few sights more revolting than seeing your son in the arms of the man who tried to kill his mother and father. I tried to be a gentleman. I don't know if I succeeded. _

_Jonah cried for almost the whole plane ride. He kept saying, "Mama." I suppose I shouldn't tell you that. But it's true. He seems to be doing better now that we're finally on the ground. Although he won't let go of the Giacchi Spencer gave him._

_I feel that I left things badly between us. And I want to explain. I love you. I will always love you. But as you know, jealousy and possessiveness run through my DNA. And even though I know it's idiotic, when Ric showed up, I became consumed with envy. And it came out wrong. I am so sorry. I behaved horribly toward you. And I deeply regret that I may have ruined what should have been a joyous occasion for both of us. You asked me what was wrong, and I said "Nothing." Because I was ashamed. And that was the second time I lied to you. The first time was when you made me promise to let you go (when I proposed). _

_I will never let you go. I knew that then, and I know that now. _

_It's probably cowardly of me to admit to lying and jealousy when you have no way of responding. But I can't live with the way I left things. _

_Stay safe. I'll see you soon._

_Give my love to Spencer._

_All my love,_

_Nikolas_

"Mama? Μήπως βρίσκουν δότη;" _Did they find a match?_

"Δεν έχει ακόμη." Not yet.

Claudia folded up the letter and stood.

"Ας έχουν πρωινό." _Let's have breakfast._

*************************************************

Lucky Spencer's House. Living Room.

A baby monitor sat on the coffee table. Laura's three children sat around it.

"How many more possible donors are there?," Lucky asked.

"Five," Nikolas said. "Spencer's too little, so he's out. But conceivably, we have Dante Falconeri, Morgan Corinthos, Ric Lansing, Anthony Zacchara, and John Zacchara."

"And you won't ask Ric or Anthony?"

"Asking Ric or Anthony would be giving Jonah another kind of death sentence."

"Has anyone heard from Johnny?," Lulu asked.

"No."

Lulu put her arm around Nikolas. "Remember," she said, "No one expected you to come around and save my life."

"I know."

Nikolas looked up to see Lucky staring at him glumly.

"What?," he asked Lucky.

Lucky shook his head. "It's not a good time. We can talk about it later."

"I don't think there's going to be a better time," Nikolas said. "This is only going to get busier and more complicated."

Lucky took a deep breath. "You know I love you, man, right?," he said.

"Of course," Nikolas said. But he could understand why Lucky felt the need to ask. Lucky had never visited the island. He said he had two kids to take care of. He said he couldn't get the time off from work. He said it had nothing to do with Nikolas dragging Elizabeth into his mess. He said it had nothing to do with Nikolas' wife.

"I'm happy to have you here, even though I'm sorry about the circumstances."

"I appreciate that."

"But Claudia can't stay here."

"What?," Lulu said.

"Nikolas, she got a child shot. My cousin's kid. I have two children of my own to think about."

Nikolas was silent.

So Lulu spoke up. "Lucky," she said, "Claudia is not exactly my favorite person, but she would never -- she's _great_ with kids. She wouldn't let any of your children get hurt. And she wouldn't stay here if she thought it would put them in danger."

"She didn't think Michael was in any danger either, did she?"

"Lucky, she's Nikolas' wife. You can't --"

"It's all right," Nikolas interrupted. "I'll find someplace else."

"I can talk to Dad, or Tracy," Lulu said, shooting a death glare at Lucky.

"Thank you, Lulu. But no. We have somewhere we can stay. I'll make arrangements tomorrow."

"You don't have to leave now," Lucky said.

Nikolas stared at Lucky. Like a Cassadine would. Lucky went quiet.

Nikolas went upstairs to pack.

Lulu punched Lucky in the arm. "You are a jerk," she said.

"This isn't about Nikolas. Or Jonah. This is about Claudia Zacchara."

"This _is_ about Nikolas. Because it's about Claudia Cassadine."

Lulu had always wondered why Claudia and Nikolas hadn't invited any family members to their wedding. Even Laura, who was loved by both of them, was excluded. Now she understood why.

Excluding everyone was the easiest way to keep their wedding the happy event it was supposed to be. No reminders of who wasn't there. Of who couldn't be there.

Of how far you can come toward being accepted as a full member of your family, only to be outcast because of their disapproval.

Lulu cast her mind back to her visit to the island. Claudia had been welcoming. Not gushing or anything. But she'd avoided any conflict, and made sure Lulu had a great visit, with plenty of time with the kids and Nikolas. There were times when Lulu had wanted to be alone with Nikolas, and she had barely gotten a word out to express that when Claudia had quickly and smoothly excused herself. She would say she had cooking to do, or an errand to run, or work to do in her office.

Nikolas looked confused, but Lulu knew what was happening. Claudia wanted Lulu to come back. For Nikolas.

And Lulu couldn't help but open up her heart a little to Claudia when she realized that. Just a little.

**************************************************

Cassadine Island. The Beach.

Talia and Claudia sat on the sand, watching their children play together.

"Why did you burn your husband's message?," Talia asked in Greek.

"Because there is the slimmest possibility that it was not intercepted, and I prefer its contents only be read by me," Claudia answered in Greek.

They continued in Talia's native tongue.

"Talia," Claudia said. "When Spencer and I get to the village, it is important that it appear you and I do not know each other. And Spencer and Alex must not appear to be friends either."

"Why?"

"My father has a peculiarity when it comes to the people his children loves. He kills them."

"What kind of father is this?"

"I've been asking myself the same question my whole life." Claudia turned onto her side, facing Talia. "If you are asked about me, say you do not know me. That I'm standoffish. And if you are asked about Claudia Cassadine, say that you once applied for a job on the island, and she was very rude to you. And that was the last you saw of her."

"I do not feel comfortable speaking of you this way."

Claudia nodded. "I understand. But it's important." Claudia realized this was probably the last friend she'd ever talk to, let alone have. Might as well make the most of it. "I told Spencer the truth about his puppy yesterday."

"Good God, Claudia. How many more bombshells do you expect me to handle in this conversation?"

"How much time do you have?"

"Most friends, we talk about the fishing season, the tourists, the arguments with our husbands. I have never had a friendship like the one with you."

"Well, I've never had a friendship, so I'd say I've got you beat."

Talia laughed. Claudia held her arm up next to Talia's. She was getting darker, but wasn't dark enough yet.

"Claudia," Talia said. "What possible good can come of telling Spencer about Costas?"

"My father and Spencer's grandmother are like the grown-up, powerful versions of Costas," Claudia said. "If Spencer ends up alone with them, any act of bravery will be lost on them. It will get him killed. Believe me, I did not enjoy wrecking his innocence. His father has sheltered him his whole life. But he's in too much danger now."

"You like to prepare," Talia said.

"Yes."

"Then why did you leave a loose end?"

Claudia was silent. She knew what Talia was talking about. Claudia rolled onto her back, propping herself up on her elbows. She looked out to the ocean.

"You mean why did I let Costas go?"

"Yes."

Claudia suddenly flashed back to something Nikolas had once said to her. _"Your brother, although I admire and prefer his morality, is in a business where _his_ morality will get _you_ killed." _Claudia picked up a handful of sand and let it sift through her fingers. "I'm not a nice person," she said to Talia. "I've done horrible things. Worse than Costas. I felt sorry for Costas."

"I don't believe you," Talia said.

"When people come looking for me," Claudia said, "you will hear the stories. Some of them will probably be true."

"Costas and his family will probably lead your enemies to you."

"I know. I got a little too comfortable in my new life. I thought I had the luxury of empathy."

Claudia's eyes scanned the ocean.

"Talia," she said. "Take the boys inside. If I do not return to the house, make sure Millicent understands that Spencer is to get to his father by any means necessary. And make sure you and Alex are hidden when you leave the island."

"Claudia?"

"You have maybe five minutes to get to the house. Hurry."

Talia looked out at the ocean. There were three boats on the horizon, speeding toward the shore. Talia hurried toward the boys. Claudia reached inside her handbag and drew out her gun.


	6. Chapter 6

Cassadine Island. Main House. The Living Room.

It had been quiet for the last twenty minutes.

Talia held both boys close to her.

*************************************************

Cassadine Island. The Shore.

Claudia stood among the bodies. Forty more from either her father or Helena. And three of Nikolas' men.

She saw a familiar figure checking the bodies.

"Viktor," she called out.

"Yes, Mrs. Cassadine."

"Come here."

Viktor carefully picked his way over to Claudia.

"We need to check the boats. See how far they were able to transmit. And then do an surveillance check. See whether anything was transmitted in the last thirty minutes."

"Yes, Mrs. Cassadine."

"And then, unfortunately, we're going to have to dispose of the bodies and weapons. Hopefully, just this once."

"I understand."

"Viktor."

"Yes?"

"I am headed back to the house. Is there any blood on me?"

"No, Mrs. Cassadine."

"Thank you."

Claudia began to make her way back to the house.

Viktor stared after her. Out of the forty dead men who had been sent to eliminate Mrs. Cassadine, fifteen had died by her hand. It had taken twenty guards to eliminate the other twenty-five. And three of those twenty had died. And although his knowledge came a year and a half too late, Viktor now understood why Mr. Corinthos had been adamant about Claudia not carrying a weapon.

***************************************************

Istanbul. Hotel Room.

Helena waited by the phone. Anthony paced the length of the room.

"This is taking too long," Anthony said.

"Patience," said Helena.

"There's a woman on the beach, they said. Forty men. How many men does it take to get rid of one woman on a beach? In a bathing suit!"

The phone rang.

Helena picked it up.

"Yes?," she said. There was a lengthy pause while she listened. "Give it twenty more minutes, and then abandon your post." She hung up.

"Well?," Anthony said.

"There has been no further contact since our last transmission. The gunfire ended twenty-five minutes ago."

"That little bitch!"

"Anthony, please refrain from a misogynistic rampage. Perhaps we just lost the signals from the boats."

"I knew I shouldn't have teamed up with a woman."

******************************************************

Cassadine Island. Main House. Living Room.

Spencer jumped up and ran to Claudia as she came into the room.

"Claudee!"

She lifted him up, hugging him.

Spencer pulled back, wrinkling his nose. "Μπορείτε μυρίζει περίεργα." _You smell funny._

Claudia lifted her hand to her nose and sniffed. Gun powder.

She lowered Spencer to the ground. "Συγγνώμη, amico. Έχεις δίκιο." _Sorry, amico. You're right._ She walked over to Talia and Alex. "Πρέπει να περιμένουμε μέχρι το σούρουπο για να μπείτε στο σπίτι. Αλλά ότι θα πρέπει να είναι η τελευταία του ενθουσιασμού. Για λίγο." _We have to wait until nightfall to get you home. But that should be the last excitement for a little while._

Talia nodded, looking shell-shocked.

"Πάω για ντους.," Claudia said. _I'm going to shower. _ "Και τότε μπορούμε να γευματίσετε." _ And then we can have lunch._

There was a knock on the living room door. Claudia turned. Viktor.

"Mrs. Cassadine."

"What is it?"

"What are we to do with the boats?"

Claudia ran her hands through her hair. Then she got a mischievous look on her face. "Once you're done checking them, remove and destroy any communications equipment. Wipe down the boats. Wipe down the opposing weapons and load them onto the boats. And have three gloved men drive them far into the Mediterranean, with one of our boats following them. Shut the engines. Pick up our three gloved men. And leave the three boats out there. Floating. Dead in the water."

"Yes, Mrs. Cassadine."

Viktor left the room.

Claudia placed one hand on her abdomen, wondering just what it was about her and pregnancy.

******************************************************

Lucky Spencer's house. Guest Room.

Nikolas' phone rang shrilly, waking him up.

His hand darted to the night table, picking up the phone. "Cassadine," he said, his voice a little hoarse. He shot up in the bed. "When? ... How many? ... She what? ... No. ... Thank you." He hung up.

He got out of bed and headed out of the room.

*****************************************************

Lucky Spencer's House. Living Room. Morning.

When each Spencer made their way downstairs, they passed Nikolas on their way to breakfast. Nikolas was flipping through international news channels.

Lulu flopped down next to him on the couch with a bowl of multi-colored cereal.

"What's up?," she asked.

"Well," he said. "Apparently, Helena or Anthony sent forty men to dispose of Claudia and take Spencer."

Lulu looked closely at Nikolas' face. He didn't seem too concerned.

"And Claudia," Nikolas flipped to another channel, "not only got rid of them, but if I'm not mistaken..."

He flipped to another channel.

"What?," Lulu asked.

He flipped again. "I don't understand why this hasn't been reported. I've been looking for three hours."

He flipped again.

"Here it is," he said, with an eery intensity, standing up to watch.

He raised the volume as the cameras focused on three boats floating in the sea. A news reporter spoke over the images. In Russian.

Nikolas began to laugh.

"What's going on?," Lulu said.

Nikolas listened intently to the reporter.

He shut the T.V. when the program went to commercial.

He turned to Lulu. "You know what is the most remarkable aspect of my relationship with Claudia? Just when I think I've got a handle on how much I can love a person, she goes and does something else that makes me love her even more."

"Nikolas," Lulu said.

"A few hours ago, either Anthony or Helena -- maybe both -- send forty men to kill Claudia. To the island. She's out sunning with her friend on the beach."

"Claudia has a friend?," Lulu said incredulously. "Who? The Queen of the Damned?"

Nikolas ignored the interruption. "The kids are playing in the surf. Claudia sends them all inside. And at the end of the day, who's left standing?"

"Claudia."

"Right. But you haven't heard the best part." Nikolas turned on the T.V. again. This time he flipped through the English speaking news channels. And found the boats again. He turned the volume up.

"..._despite reports of heavy gunfire, not a single person was found, dead or alive. And a few hours later, these three empty boats were found floating out to sea. With a cache of illegal weapons that have been traced to the Tartakov Family, an illegal syndicate operating out of Odessa. There have been eight arrests so far of Tartakov members and their affiliates. More are expected later today..."_

Nikolas shut off the television. He turned to Lulu. "Claudia just destroyed Anthony and Helena's only ally. She's probably preparing a five course meal right now." He leaned back on the couch. He sighed. "I really wish I could talk to her."

Nikolas' cell phone rang. He connected with the call. "Cassadine." His face fell. "Yes. ... No, but you can reach me at this number. I'll call you when we've settled in."

He hung up. He looked up at Lulu. "That was Matt."

Lulu's heart sank.

"The leukemia is advancing."

***********************************************

Cassadine Island. Main House. Claudia's Office.

Claudia finished packing up two money bags. One was filled with many different currencies and a selection of passports. The other was filled with Greek drachmas.

She put the bags aside.

According to Viktor, she had been made. The last transmission from the attack boats had come five minutes before they landed. They would have definitely reported her new look to Anthony and Helena. Probably Spencer's too. By dismantling Anthony and Helena's Russian alliance, she had bought herself a little time. But she needed to get a jump start. And, unfortunately, she would have to abandon the plan which she and Nikolas had constructed earlier.

They had bought a house in the village under an assumed name. She and Spencer would have been among people they knew and whom they trusted to keep their secret. Living under simple disguises. And if something were to happen, Nikolas would have known how to find them.

Claudia removed the talisman from around her neck and put it in her pocket.

She opened up an Atlas to Spain. She took a sharp pen and circled Majorca. And then she ripped the page for Spain out of the book. She left the book open to where she'd ripped the page out. _That should buy us some time,_ she thought.

Now she had to prepare Spencer. Take care of the staff. And get word to Nikolas.

*************************************************

Port Charles. Bobbie Spencer's Brownstone.

Last night, in the dead of night, someone had arrived at Laura Spencer's house in Beecher's Corners. She said her name was Kristina Davis and she was driving through on her way to college, and she had a message from Lulu. Laura was apprehensive until it turned out that the message was handwritten.

So now Laura stood at the front door of Bobbie's brownstone. Not the most cozy situation, but it looked like this was her only option.

Laura tried the doorknob. Locked. She wasn't surprised. A lot of things had changed since her last visit to the brownstone.

She rang the doorbell.

"Just a minute," Bobbie called out from inside.

Laura glanced down at her luggage. She probably should have dropped it off before she stopped by the brownstone, but time was of the essence.

The door opened. Bobbie was -- not surprisingly -- surprised to see her.

"Laura."

"Can I come in?"

To her credit, Bobbie was only momentarily at a loss. "Of course."

She stepped aside and let Laura come in.

"I'm really sorry to just barge in on you like this," Laura said, as they made their way toward the parlor.

"Not a problem," Bobbie said. _Let me guess,_ she thought, _my brother or my daughter._

Laura let go of her luggage. Bobbie swept a laundry basket off the couch.

Laura smiled thankfully and sat down.

Bobbie sat down next to her. "Does Luke know you're in town?"

"No."

Bobbie nodded. "So this is about Carly."

"Yes."

"I don't have a lot of influence there."

"He's one and a half."

"Believe me, Laura, I know. I've been on the other side of this. With B.J. and Maxie."

"Morgan wouldn't be at risk for anything. It's much harder on the recipient than on the donor."

"I've tried to talk to Carly about it. Monica called me yesterday and asked me to. But by the time I was able to get in touch with Carly, Lulu had already been there. And theay had gotten into it."

They didn't say it, but both women knew: two Spencer women stubborn and opposed was not an easy thing to overcome.

They both sighed at the same time, and then looked at each other in surprise. And laughed.

"I'll try again," Bobbie said. "But everyone in your family has to back off for this to work. Carly never truly felt like she was accepted as a Spencer. And Nikolas was. It was always a little bit of a sore spot. Until she and Lulu became close. So you can see where Lulu's part in all of this made Carly feel like Lulu had chosen Nikolas over Carly. It pushed all sorts of buttons, on top of the fact that Claudia got my grandson shot."

"Claudia," Laura said. "is not that much different than Luke. Or Roy."

"Yes, she is," Bobbie said. "Because no one ordered her to make that hit. She was the one who ordered it."

"Sonny had --"

"I know what Sonny did," Bobbie said. "I get it. I barely get it. But Carly can't get it. She's Michael's mother. Now we just have to count on her basic humanity to come through. And it's there, and it's big. But everyone has to be careful about how they handle it. Carly has a hair-trigger defense mechanism. And if anyone else approaches her like she's morally inferior for not jumping to Jonah's rescue, it's going to make Carly put up even more walls."

***********************************************

A Small Village outside of Athens. Night.

Claudia dropped off the two boys and Talia.

"I will be back in a few hours," she said to Talia in Greek. "Should someone come to the village, they must not see Spencer."

Claudia looked like a stranger now. Tanned. Short, sleek blonde hair. White clothing.

Spencer rubbed his head. He did not like being a blond. And the color didn't quite suit him.

Claudia stripped down to a bathing suit and tucked her clothing into a large backpack. She tucked the backpack under the boat slip.

"Thank you, Talia," she said. "I'm sorry if I've put you in any danger." Claudia looked away from Talia and then looked her in the eye. "I had wanted this to be the one relationship where I never asked anything of the other person."

_That_ was the friend Talia had known all these months. No amount of physical alterations or skills with weaponry could change that. Talia pulled Claudia into a hug.

The women pulled back from each other.

"We will be careful," Talia said. "You do the same."

Claudia knelt down in front of Spencer. "I'll be back for you soon."

"Okay," Spencer said bravely. Claudia smiled at him, and brushed her hand through his hair.

She walked out to the sailboat and pushed it a good distance away from the shore. And then she climbed on board.

***************************************************

Three miles from Shore. Twenty minutes later.

It was too bad, Claudia thought, that water had such a foul relationship with electricity. No power tools. She continued to saw away at the bottom of the boat with her hand saw.

No water yet. She looked around the cabin. This was where she and Nikolas had first made love in Greece. They both loved this boat, probably a little because of that. Probably a lot because of that.

One more casualty of the Zacchara/Cassadine heritage.

The hand saw broke through and water began to gather at the bottom of the inside of the boat. Claudia quickly widened the hole. Water gushed in.

Claudia swiftly made her way to the deck of the boat. No moon tonight. Hopefully no witnesses. She waited until only the railing remained above water, and then she jumped, hand saw in hand.

She swam away from the the boat and watched it completely capsize.

Then she swam the three miles to the shore, using only her legs to propel her, holding the hand saw in front of her.

It was a long trip. She took advantage of the fact that she was away from Spencer and cried for Jonah the whole way.

**************************************************

Lucky Spencer's House. Afternoon.

Laura knocked on the door. It was quiet inside. Probably keeping things quiet for Jonah.

Lucky opened the door.

"Mom," he said, surprised. And then he recovered and hugged her tightly. "It's great to see you."

"It's great to see you too. And hug you."

"Come in, come in."

He swung the door open wider and took her suitcase from her.

Laura looked around the living room. Something was wrong.

"Lucky," she said. "Where are Nikolas and Jonah?"

**************************************************

Spoon Island. The Guest House. Afternoon.

Lulu, Nikolas and Jonah made their way up the path to the guest house, trailed by twenty guards.

Jonah kept smiling at the guards over Nikolas' shoulder.

Nikolas took out the key that had been left for him, and opened the front door.

Lulu turned on the light.

Very different from how it had been. The furniture was more homey. Many more amenities. Nikolas made a mental note to check to see whether the kitchen still existed.

There was no way he would let Claudia know she wasn't welcome in his brother's home. So he chose a place to stay that had sentimental value. A place she would believe a romantic like Nikolas would have sought out for her. A place that was now conveniently available for vacationing families.

Jonah yawned.

"Are you ready for a nap, piccolo?," Nikolas asked.

Jonah nodded.

Nikolas turned to Lulu. "I'll be back soon."

Nikolas began to carry Jonah up the stairs. Just like he'd carried Claudia up the stairs her first night back on the island. Come to think of it, he'd carried Jonah upstairs that night too.

He'd been unintentionally cruel to Claudia. Sending her out here, like she was an unwanted guest. And later, he'd made certain she'd known this was not her home. That there was a way she was expected to behave in his house. That she came second to his family.

Not so different from what Lucky had just done.

But later, it had become the place Nikolas had first felt the baby kick. Where Claudia had vanquished Helena. And where they'd spent their last night together in Port Charles. And that's what Claudia would remember.

As he reached the top of the stairs, he looked down at Jonah.

If Nikolas were completely ignorant about such things, he would still have been worried about Jonah.

Even taking jetlag into account, Jonah was sleeping for most of the day. Two more bruises had appeared, and Nikolas had no idea where they came from.

All contact from Greece had ceased. He had, against his better judgment, broken down and tried to reach the house. There was no answer.

Nikolas knew Claudia wouldn't abandon their plans unless she had to, and he knew she wouldn't take any unnecessary risks with Spencer along. He also knew that just when he thought she'd exhausted all her options, she found unexpected ways to be resourceful.

He did not like not knowing where she was.

But at least with Claudia and Spencer, there was some amount of control to be had over the situation.

Jonah was like...

He tucked Jonah into the toddler bed he'd arranged to have set up across from his own in the master bedroom. He kissed his son's forehead. Too warm.

"Good night, Jonah."

"Night."

Nikolas' breath caught. A new word.

He kissed Jonah again. He turned on a nightlight. Drew the shades. And left the room.

Once outside the room, he leaned against the wall.

Jonah was like Emily. When Emily had cancer. He felt a tear escape his eye, and quickly brushed it away.

This town was poison. He'd forgotten. Understandable. He'd been away too long in paradise.

On Nikolas and Claudia's first anniversary, after the special dinner Claudia had made and brought out to the patio outside of their bedroom, after the dessert they'd hand-fed each other, after the exchange of gifts, Claudia had kissed him. When they'd finally pulled apart, she'd gotten to her feet and grabbed his hands, pulling him toward the bedroom. He had pulled her back outside.

"Nikolas!," she laughed. "Are you going to deny me _now?_ Come _on_."

"No. Wait," he said. "There's one more matter to discuss."

"'Matter to discuss'?," she said mockingly.

"Stop that. I was wondering if there's anywhere you want to go."

"What? Am I being too subtle? I want to go to _bed._"

"No," he said, laughing. "I mean for a trip. A vacation. We never had a honeymoon."

She looked at him as if he were insane. "Nikolas. This whole marriage is one long honeymoon. Let's go to bed."

Claudia was right. Life on Cassadine Island was a honeymoon. It was paradise.

Port Charles was hell. Virtually thrown out of Lucky's house. Away from Claudia. And the worst, the worst part. Jonah -- who'd only ever known love his whole life -- was now dying of hate. Carly's hate.

He took a deep breath. And then he stormed down the stairs.

Lulu started as he reached the living room.

"Can you wait here for me?"

"Where are you going?"

"Can you wait here?"

"Of course."

"Make sure no one gets in. If Jonah wakes up, tell him I'll be back soon."

Nikolas stormed out of the house.

*************************************************

A Small Village Outside of Athens. Near dawn.

Claudia crept in the window of the bleached white house. She quietly searched the house. And found the right bedroom.

Spencer's pre-school teacher was slipping into elderly territory. Claudia hoped she wasn't about to give her a heart attack.

"Κα Πέπη. " Claudia said. _Mrs. Pepi. _ The woman stirred. "Κα Πέπη. Ξυπνάω." _Mrs. Pepi. Wake up._

The woman's eyes opened. She sat up in bed, clutching her top sheet to her. It took her a moment to recognize the woman standing at her bed. At first she thought that an American broadcaster had somehow escaped from one of her dreams. With very damp hair.

"Κα Cassadine;" _Mrs. Cassadine?_

"Ναι. " Claudia said. _Yes. _ "Πώς θα επιθυμούσατε να λάβει τέλος, ότι το ταξίδι στην Αμερική;" _How would you like to finally take that trip to America?_

***********************************************************************

Carly and Jax's House. Night.

The house was fully lit up. Laughter coming from inside. Laughter.

Nikolas pounded on the door.

The laughter stopped. Well, good.

He pounded again.

The door opened. Jax.

Nikolas shoved him backwards, into the house. Nikolas followed him inside.

Carly looked up from the couch, her mouth hanging open. She quickly recovered.

"Call the police, Morgan."

"Yes, by all means, Morgan, call the police. Because that's a much better use of your time than _saving your brother's life._," Nikolas said heatedly.

"Mom?," Morgan said, confused.

"There is a little boy dying of _cancer_," Nikolas continued, "and all your family can think is, 'Well, it's an eye for an eye. Too bad for Jonah.'" Nikolas violently pointed at Carly. "You shot a man in cold blood. Where do you get off judging my wife, and torturing her little boy?"

Jax got in between Carly and Nikolas, pushing Nikolas away from Carly.

"You need to calm down, Nikolas," he said.

"Calm down?," he said, enraged. "Why? Because your wife is such a bastion of even temper?"

"Hey!," Carly said, rising. "Back off, Cassadine. And think back to, oh, I don't know, a year and a half ago? What did you tell me? You told me to stay away from your family. I have done just that."

"If you let my child die," Nikolas said, blinking back tears. "I swear to God, you will never, never be done with me. I will haunt you until your dying day."

In the sudden silence of the room, Nikolas took a deep breath. He had become too emotional. He gathered his countenance into a semblance of composure.

He left the house almost like a cool, calm Cassadine. But he slammed the door behind him.

"Yeah," said Carly. "It's so serious that the kid's mother can't even make it across the ocean."

"Mom?," Morgan said.

"What, sweetie?"

"Who's Jonah? And did you really shoot a man?"

**************************************************************************

Cassadine Island. Morning.

Helena's boat came in stealthily, but it seemed the effort was unnecessary.

The shore was empty.

The house was abandoned. Even the horses had been evacuated.

But in the middle of the chaos of the sudden decampment, someone had made a tiny slip-up.

Helena scooped up the Atlas from Claudia's desk. Her fingers traced the indentation of the circle from the missing page. She handed it to her henchman.

"Find me another copy. Let's see just what page is missing. And what's been marked."

******************************************************

The Road to Patras. Greece.

Claudia commandeered the steering wheel with her knees and elbows as she punctured a juice container with a straw.

She glanced at Spencer, who was watching the steering wheel with a look of awe. Great. Another thing to go on the list of Things Claudia Shouldn't Have Done While Away From Nikolas. She passed the juice to Spencer and took a very responsible Hands at 10 and 2 position, grateful that her thigh holster was on the side facing away from Spencer and had remained hidden from him.

She looked at Spencer again. She smiled.

"Okay, pirata. Lesson One. What is an Ugly American?"

Spencer made a grotesque face.

Claudia cracked up.

"No," she said. "But that was a good guess. An Ugly American is an American who travels to other countries and is rude, loud, and insulting..."


	7. Chapter 7

Patras. Greece.

Spencer had taken a little too well to the Ugly American concept.

They had joined an American tour of Greece. It would last until her two weeks were up, and with any luck, they would have flown under the radar. The loud-mouthed American and her brat son were certainly noticeable, but only as the pair who were ruining two honeymoons, a college present, and a 65th anniversary. And what looked to be a potential hook-up between two teens who were evading both sets of parents at every turn.

Claudia didn't give a damn whose vacation she was ruining -- she was saving two of her children's lives, and that was more important. Besides, if she and Nikolas had been on this trip? With two other Ugly Americans haunting them? They would have had a great time anyway.

As opposed to her invented husband, Claudia thought. She'd picked up a gaudy set of engagement and wedding rings for part of her disguise. Something a Cassadine wouldn't be caught dead wearing or purchasing. But Kit, the woman whom Claudia was pretending to be, loved these rings. Almost as much as she hated her husband, Bruce, who'd unexpectedly stayed home because of a work emergency, but whom most of the people on the tour suspected of finding an excuse to get away from his irritating wife and son.

"Hot, huh?," Claudia asked the tour guide, waving her hand under her nose. Claudia had taken Nikolas' observance to heart. Her own voice was too recognizable, so she was now using a combination of Olivia Falconeri's accent and Kate Howard's screechiest tones. A sort of homage of hate. She continued, full-screech, to the tour guide, "You need a shower, hon."

"Mommy!," Spencer shouted.

"What?," Claudia blared back.

"Everything here is _old,_" Spencer whined. "I want to go home."

"We want you to go home, too," one of the teen's parents muttered, loud enough for Claudia to hear.

"Hey!," Spencer called out to one of the teens, running to catch up to his quarry, "What do you call the place you're putting your hand?"

Two sets of parents suddenly jerked their heads toward their wayward progeny, as Spencer ran back to Claudia.

Claudia ruffled his hair affectionately, and was suddenly overcome by a wave of nausea.

"Mommy?"

Claudia took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?"

Claudia grabbed Spencer's hand, and they fell behind the group.

She found a bench to sit on. When she finally felt steady enough, she turned to look at Spencer. He looked concerned.

She patted his knee. "I'm okay," she said, looking around to make sure they were alone, and then leaning in to whisper. "The baby's making sure I remember she's there."

"It's a girl?," Spencer whispered back.

"I don't know. But that sounded good, didn't it?"

Spencer still looked worried.

"This is normal, amico." She leaned in to whisper again. "You probably don't remember this, but when your brother was inside me, I used to miss breakfast a lot."

Spencer raised his eyebrows skeptically, looking more than a little like Nikolas.

"Really," Claudia reassured him.

In truth, Claudia was a little concerned about the baby herself. Her little stunt with the sailboat was draining, and it was too risky to visit a doctor right now -- even though her own doctor, the one who had confirmed the pregnancy, was only five minutes away. Nikolas would have marched her right over there, consequences be damned. But Claudia was a lot more clearheaded out of Nikolas' presence, without his overwhelming confidence to bowl her over. Unfortunately, she was also a lot more worried without him here to calm her down. That was something she hoped she was hiding from Spencer. She used to be an award-worthy liar, after all. That skill still had to be there. It was just a little rusty from disuse.

"You ready to go back into the trenches, _Robin_?"

Spencer scowled at his new name. When Nikolas and Claudia had been acquiring new aliases and passports for the family, Claudia had chosen Bruce and Robin for Nikolas and Spencer for one set. The whole Batman connection was too hard for her to resist. It turned out that Spencer hated the name. It didn't matter how many videos Claudia YouTubed, showing him action scene after action scene with Batman and Robin; Spencer was extremely displeased. Spencer displeased was a lot like Claudia displeased. Come to think of it, she was positive he looked exactly like she looked whenever she heard the name of that other Robin -- Robin Scorpio. Definitely a big nurture influence thing going on there with Spencer.

Claudia leaned over and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

"What's that for?," Spencer asked.

"Because I love you," Claudia said.

Spencer smiled. He climbed onto her lap and hugged her.

"Do you forgive me for your name?"

"No." Spencer climbed off her lap, jumped off the bench, grabbed her hand and tried to pull her off the bench.

"Hey!," she said.

"Come on," he said. "I want to tell everybody the man in the white suit smells bad."

"That's my boy," Claudia said, letting him lead her down the street.

******************************************

Just Outside of Milan. Chiarelli Compound. Uncle Rudy's Office.

Uncle Rudy stared at the framed photograph of his sister Domenica, which sat on top of his desk.

He had acquired twenty-five new men today. From Claudia. Temporary reinforcements, but enough to worry him. This was the first time in a year and a half that Claudia had been without protection.

A year and a half was a long time for someone in their family to have been outside of the business. In fact, the only other person who had ever tried it was Claudia's brother John, back when he was a teenager. That had lasted a few weeks. The family Johnny had run to had ended up murdered. By Anthony Zacchara. Johnny was safer than Claudia now.

Claudia had people she loved. Anthony had leverage. Any time Anthony needed to lure Claudia out of hiding, all he had to do was make an example of someone from Claudia's new family.

She had been so cautious for the past year and a half. Not a single visit to Italy. No more than 24 hours off the island, and even then, she and her family had been surrounded by guards. No pictures taken of the children. It was going to be very difficult for Anthony to get to any of Claudia's new family. Unless Claudia was careless. Or Johnny was reckless.

Rudy had no way of knowing what would happen. He had never known Claudia in love.

******************************************

Port Charles. General Hospital. Matt's Office.

Nikolas had woken up that morning with a bad case of remorse and what Claudia liked to call a "rage hangover." It had always made him laugh when she said it, but without her here he couldn't find the humor in it. He had the sinking feeling he had wrecked Jonah's chances with Morgan.

Nikolas sat with Jonah on the floor. Matt was a little late, but Nikolas was grateful for the opportunity to spend some time with Jonah while he was awake.

Jonah pushed the Giacchi fire truck around the floor.

"Jonah."

"What?"

"Look."

"What?"

"My shoe is on fire!"

Jonah laughed and "wheeled" the truck over to Nikolas' shoe.

"Whoosh! goes the firehose, right?"

"Wuh."

"That's right."

Nikolas absentmindedly touched the Batman band-aid on his chin. They'd gone on a field trip to a drugstore this morning. Nikolas thought things might go better if Jonah could find something he liked about the whole hospital experience, so he let Jonah pick out any band-aids he liked. Jonah had picked out Batman. Nikolas suspected the littlest Cassadine had been coached by his mother. Just a feeling. Nikolas had put one of the band-aids on when it looked like it would make Jonah smile. It had.

Jonah touched Nikolas' band-aid. Then he raised his arms.

"All right." Nikolas lifted Jonah into his lap, and then fell gently onto his back, lifting Jonah high above him.

Jonah laughed. Nikolas loved Jonah's smile. He broke out into a huge grin. So much life inside such a tiny body. Nothing could destroy Jonah.

"I never thought I'd see the day," Elizabeth said from the doorway.

Jonah grinned at Nikolas. Nikolas reluctantly sat up, turning Jonah around on his lap, and kissing the top of Jonah's head.

Nikolas smiled at Elizabeth. "Hello."

Elizabeth knelt on the floor. "Hello, Jonah. I haven't seen you since the day you were born. You've gotten so big."

Jonah tilted his head curiously. Nikolas leaned in and whispered in Jonah's ear.

"Ciao," Jonah said.

"Hello," Elizabeth said.

Jonah laughed, delighted.

Elizabeth brushed Jonah's hair away from his forehead. She looked up at Nikolas. "You didn't tell me you were here."

"We're keeping it quiet."

"You told Matt."

"We had to."

And then the silence descended. The same silence that had been between them for almost a year and a half. After Liz had found out about Claudia's role in Michael's shooting, she'd fired off a nasty letter to Nikolas. Claudia had left it for him, unopened, on his desk. One look at his face after he'd read it, and Claudia knew.

_"What are you going to do?," she'd asked him later that night, while they were lying in each other's arms._

_"About what?"_

_"Liz Webber."_

_"Nothing."_

_Claudia sat up and looked him in the eye._

_"She's been your friend since you were a kid. She was Emily's best friend."_

_"And?"_

_He met her stare evenly. She lowered herself back into his arms._

Claudia had left it alone after that. And the later letters from Elizabeth had piled up in a drawer in Nikolas' desk. Unopened.

Matt came in the room. He looked surprised to see Elizabeth there. "Hey," he said, cautiously. "I didn't know that --"

"I found Jonah's file," Elizabeth said.

Matt raised his eyebrows and then turned to Jonah. "Ready for more tests, buddy?"

Nikolas looked from Matt to Elizabeth, feeling a cold front move between them. Liz was angry at Matt for lying and Matt was not happy about Liz's snooping, Nikolas surmised. He got up from the floor, bringing Jonah over to a small gurney, grateful that he and Claudia had gotten their own relationship exactly right.

*****************************************

Port Charles. Lucky Spencer's House. Kitchen.

"If you want to say something, say something," Lucky said.

It wasn't that Laura hadn't been speaking since she'd arrived. She just hadn't said anything about Lucky's stance on Claudia. Still, she stayed with Lucky, didn't storm out to Spoon Island. That had to mean something.

Laura looked down into her coffee cup as if it were a fortune teller's tea leaves. She didn't have a whole lot of moral high ground here, and she definitely didn't want to have an argument. Not when she was living all the way out in Beecher's Corners and wouldn't be able to fix something that broke between her and Lucky.

Finally, she lifted her head, and asked, not as an accusation or a point in an argument, but as a genuine question, "Don't you miss Nikolas?"

"Of course I miss Nikolas," Lucky shot back. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not trying to pick a fight, Lucky. I just don't think that you can expect to have a relationship with your brother -- especially now that he's living halfway across the world -- if you don't accept his wife."

"Look, I know you like her --"

"This has nothing to do with me liking her, Lucky. This has to do with Nikolas."

"She got a kid shot. And even if she hadn't, you weren't here -- you didn't see her throwing herself at any guy who crossed her path -- you don't really know her."

"So you think Nikolas is a notch on her belt? Lucky. Claudia loves Nikolas."

"Oh, I'm sure she likes him. He's her Get Out of Jail Free card."

Laura laughed at Lucky before she was aware enough to stop herself.

"I'm sorry," Laura said. Lucky was silent. "Is there anything that would make you change your mind about Claudia?"

"You're not going to like it."

"Try me."

"A signed confession."

This was going to be a delicate conversation. Too many secrets involving too many people. "Why do you think she arranged a hit on Sonny?," Laura asked.

"I don't care," Lucky said. "It's not what a normal person would have done."

"No one is saying that Claudia is normal, Lucky. If she was normal, she probably wouldn't be happy with Nikolas. She definitely wouldn't be in love with him."

"So it's okay. To get away with Michael's shooting."

Laura stared at Lucky.

"What?"

"You don't know her, Lucky. She didn't get away with anything."

"She's living on a beach with servants catering to her every whim. She's got half of Nikolas' fortune."

"Do you think your brother is stupid?"

"When he's in love? Absolutely."

Laura brought her coffee cup over to the sink. She turned to face Lucky. "When you broke up with Sam -- the first time -- why was that?"

Lucky didn't answer. Laura squeezed his shoulder.

"I have to go see Nikolas and Jonah. But I'll be back later."

"Okay."

"I'm not choosing sides. You know that, don't you?"

"Sure."

Laura had a feeling she'd just been lied to.

*******************************************

Luxury Suite. Hotel La Residencia. Majorca. Spain.

"She's not here," Anthony said. "My daughter may be crazy, but she's not stupid. Now your grandson, on the other hand..."

Helena did not look up from studying the intercepted email. "My grandson is not unintelligent. He's hopeless. And I'll need one more day in Majorca to reassure me that your daughter and my great-grandson aren't here."

"Typical female. All about you. My grandson is in the United States. So is my parole officer. That's where I need to be."

Helena closed her laptop, wondering if Anthony had figured out what had been spelled out so plainly in the email. That most likely there was going to be no grandson left for her partner to acquire. "Anthony, I know you have the cognitive skills of a crushed Amarone grape, but stifle your impulses for a moment, and think about what you're going to need in order to take back your grandson from your ever-elusive daughter."

Anthony lifted his gun and pointed it at Helena. "You mean this?," he said.

Helena gave a delicate, ladylike shrug of her shoulders. "You Americans. Ever the cowboys."

Anthony lowered the gun. That old bat thought she was so smart. Like Anthony didn't know that the kid was dying. His grandson was only dying because his conniving daughter had taken a siesta and was letting Prince No-Guts take charge of the kid's health. Once Anthony was there, he'd make sure the kid got everything he needed. By any means necessary. But first...

"Okay, Hellzapoppin. We'll do it your way for now. But I'm going to Italy tonight. You take Greece when you're done playing Spaniard."

Helena was staring at him. It was a little eery.

"What?," he challenged her.

"Mangle my name but one more time, and they'll need a microscope to find your remains."

******************************************

Port Charles. General Hospital. Matt's Office.

Jonah was being put through more tests in an examination room. To see if he was strong enough for an attempt at an "alternative cure," they said.

Dante Falconeri was on his way in to town, but after that, there was only Morgan left.

There was a knock at the door. Nikolas looked up at the tiny door window. A guard gestured to him.

Nikolas stepped outside and then took a step backward.

Mrs. Pepi, Spencer's teacher, was there. The setting was so utterly inappropriate for her that he momentarily lost his bearings.

"Mr. Cassadine, Mrs. Cassadine sent me to America. And I only had to lend her my car. She can keep my car. I'm going to _New York City,_" Mrs. Pepi said. "I am going to The View."

Nikolas had no idea what that meant.

Mrs. Pepi reached into her purse and took out a letter. She handed it to Nikolas.

"_Nikolas" _ was scrawled across the front of the envelope. In Claudia's handwriting.

Nikolas took the envelope and hurriedly opened it.

Claudia's letter was in Albanian. He silently translated it.

_Dear Nikolas,_

_I love you too, jackass._

_We're safe. We're together._

_Had to change plans. That's not all that changed. _

_Don't use Albanian again. My father understands it._

_Miss you._

_Be careful._

_My love to you and ours,_

_Claudia_

_P.S., Daddy, if you're reading this, if you or Helena so much as touch a member of my family, I will make your forty boat men seem like a five year-old's playdate._

Nikolas looked up at Mrs. Pepi.

"Did anyone see this besides you?"

"Oh, no, Mr. Cassadine."

"Good," he said. "Should anyone ask you, I would appreciate it if you told them that Mrs. Cassadine looked the same as usual the last time you saw her."

"Δεν καταλαβαίνω." _I do not understand._

"Μην σχολιάσει την αλλαγή στην εμφάνισή της σε κανέναν." _Do not comment on the change in her appearance to anyone_. "Περιμένω. Τι σημαίνει αυτή μοιάζει;" _Wait. What does she look like?_

Mrs. Pepi simulated zipping her lip.

"Πολύ καλή, κα Πέπη. Αλλά μπορείτε να μου πείτε." _Very good, Mrs. Pepi. But you can tell me._

Mrs. Pepi thought about it for a moment. "Like Diane Sawyer."

Nikolas stifled a laugh. "Thank you," he said. "Enjoy New York City."

Mrs. Pepi made her way to the elevators.

Nikolas folded up the letter. He would dispose of it when he got home.

"Who was that?," Laura said, coming up behind him.

Nikolas turned to face his mother. He hugged her tightly. Finally, someone who loved his whole family.

"You're here," he said.

"Lulu thought I might help," Laura said, pulling back to look at him. "She sent a letter through a girl named Kristina."

"Thank you," Nikolas said. "Thank you for coming."

"How's Jonah?"

Nikolas didn't answer, but his eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, Nikolas."

"And he's being so good."

"Of course he is," Laura said. "Is Claudia still calling him the Marilyn Munster of the family?"

Nikolas managed a weak smile. "Not for awhile now."

Only Claudia or Emily, Laura thought, could have made Nikolas sit through an episode of The Munsters just to understand a joke.

"Nikolas," Laura said, treading lightly. "Where is Claudia?"

Nikolas looked around quickly and muttered, "I'll tell you later."

Laura nodded. "Who was that woman? The one who just handed you something."

"Spencer's pre-school teacher."

"From Greece?"

"She's always wanted to visit America. Engages Claudia and me in English conversation every time we pick up Spencer. Claudia just gifted her with a trip to New York. So she could have a message delivered to me." It occurred to Nikolas that he and Claudia were issuing threats lately as easily as if they were traffic tickets.

"What's wrong?"

Nikolas put the letter in his pocket. He turned to Laura. "Claudia and I, we don't do well when we're separated. The message she sent to me also contained a message to Anthony and Helena. Just in case it was intercepted."

"What kind of message?"

"A threat. Which either of those monsters would see as a challenge."

Laura took Nikolas' hand. "She'll be okay. She wouldn't risk Spencer."

"No," said Nikolas. "But she'd risk herself."

*******************************************

Port Charles. Crimson Magazine Offices. Reception Area.

Lulu was alone. Doing the work of three people. Maxie was off covering Fashion Week, and Kate was off being part of Fashion Week.

Which left Lulu covering the phones and working through correspondence. And muttering to herself. A lot. About everything up to and including the fact that Kate hadn't been creative enough to find a name for the magazine that was different than the name for Johnny's childhood home.

The truth was, Lulu missed Johnny. Absence was making the heart fantasize. And making her forget all of the things that were wrong with their relationship. She knew that something must have been wrong with their relationship, or they never would have broken up. But nothing seemed that important now.

"Lulu?"

Lulu hadn't even heard the elevator doors open. She looked up to find Morgan standing over her desk.

The phone rang. She picked it up and hung it up in one swift moment.

"Hey, Morgan," she said, cautiously. "Does your mother know you're here?"

"She wouldn't have let me come."

Lulu nodded.

"Who's Jonah?"

"Your mother didn't tell you?"

"She just wanted to talk about Claudia Zacchara. And Michael."

Lulu kicked her foot out, using it to drag a chair closer to her. "Have a seat," she said.

Morgan sat down.

"Jonah's my nephew," Lulu said. "I'm a little biased."

"That's okay. I think my mother's kind of biased the other way."

Carly was going to hate her for this. "Jonah's one and a half years old. And actually, he's a lot like you..."

*******************************************

Diodos Cafe. Athens. Greece.

The last light of the sun felt so good on her face, Claudia closed her eyes for a moment. One more day almost over, and Spencer and her baby were still safe.

"Mommy?"

"Hmmm?"

"Can I have another cake?"

Claudia opened one eye and peered at Spencer. "Do you know how many of your father's rules I've broken since we've been on our little adventure?"

"No," Spencer answered. "I can't count that high yet."

Claudia laughed. "So mean. You know I can't resist you when you make me laugh." Claudia signaled to their waiter and pointed to Spencer's empty plate, holding up one finger. The waiter nodded.

"Pardon me, miss," a familiar voice said into her ear. "Have you seen the Acropolis?"

Claudia almost jumped out of her skin. She turned around, tears filling her eyes.

John.

**********************************************

Milan. Italy. Fracassa Clinic.

The hallways and reception area were silent. And bloody. No witnesses left.

Forty men gone missing on Cassadine Island. The Tartakov Family dismantled. Wild goose chases that could end up with him in prison for skipping out on probation. And no grandson to show for it. Okay. If Claudia wanted to play rough, Anthony was willing to step up.

He entered Room 241.

There she was. Eyes unseeing. Propped up in a chair. Mind gone.

"Hello, Domenica," Anthony said. "I have a message for your daughter."


	8. Chapter 8

Port Charles. Matt and Liz's House. Living Room.

"Your mother's going to be home any minute, and then we can all have breakfast together," Leslie said. She'd gotten there as Liz left for the night shift yesterday, barely had time to say hello or good-bye to Liz, and had received a call from Matt saying he was doing a double shift so not to expect him for awhile.

Nikolas had asked Leslie to stop by today. Not so much in her doctor mode, but because Jonah was dealing with a lot of strangers and needed some familiar faces. Leslie had joined Laura on her last trip to Cassadine Island. Jonah wasn't able to wrap his mouth around saying "Grandma," let alone "great-Grandma," but he'd taken to Leslie.

Right now, Liz's living room floor was covered with a large blanket. Cameron and Jake were sprawled out over it, making up drawings.

"I don't remember Jonah," Cameron said.

"I don't remember Jonah," Jake said.

"Well, that's understandable," Leslie said. "I don't think you've ever met him."

"Why not?," Cameron asked.

"Why not?," Jake echoed. Leslie had never been through this phase with kids before. She'd missed out on Laura's childhood, Lulu and Lucky were too far apart in age to go through the imitation stage, and Spencer was pretty much a loner until the Cassadines moved to the Island. And since Jonah couldn't really speak sentences yet, he and Spencer hadn't been tested with this phase yet.

Cameron shoved Jake. "Stop copying me."

"Hey," Leslie said. "No hitting and no pushing. Do you need a time out, Cameron?"

"He won't stop saying everything I say."

"Imitation is the best form of flattery."

Cameron looked at her blankly.

"Your brother _likes_ you," Leslie explained.

"So?," Cameron said. "It's annoying."

There was no safe place in this discussion. Better to move on. "To answer your question about Jonah -- and Jake if you poke Cameron one more time with that crayon, I will have to separate you two -- Jonah is your cousin through your Dad, and your Dad hasn't been able to visit your Uncle Nikolas, which means he never got to take you to meet Jonah. But Jonah will be very happy about your drawings."

"If he's here, why can't we meet him now?"

"He's sick," Liz said, coming in the front door. "It's easy for Jonah to catch colds and all sorts of other things, so not many people are allowed to visit him."

"Mom!," Cameron jumped up and started to run to Liz. When Jake got up and started to follow, Cameron whirled around and said, "Get your own walk."

"Oh, boy," Liz said. "Boys, why don't you go upstairs and get cleaned up and I'll make us all breakfast."

Jake toddled over to the stairs. He turned to face Cameron. "I got here first," he said. Then he climbed the stairs, with Cameron following.

"How was the night shift?," Leslie asked.

"I'm surprised it's not Halloween," Liz said. "Really strange things going on."

Leslie laughed. She'd always gotten a kick out of Liz's perspective -- especially as far as the hospital was concerned. Liz looked distracted, though. "Did you talk to Nikolas?"

"I tried to."

Uh-oh. "He's very stubborn."

"I think Matt's not talking to me now."

"Why?"

"Because I went through his files to find out what he was hiding from me."

"Because you behaved like a Webber woman."

"Is that what this is? What a relief. I thought it was a character defect."

"No, no. It's what happens when our innate curiosity meets up with our mates' secrecy."

"I'll take that answer."

Leslie smiled understandingly. "I think it'll be easier to make up with Matt. Why don't you start with him and work your way up to Nikolas?"

*********************************

Hotel Suite. Living Room. Athens. Greece. Night.

"You," Claudia said in a soft but hostile voice, "are an idiot."

"You think this is my first time in Greece?," Johnny whispered back.

"Are you insane?," Claudia asked.

"I'm a Zacchara. We're all insane."

Spencer was sleeping in the next room, but the siblings' voices kept getting louder.

"By the way," Johnny said, "I can't believe you drag Nikolas Cassadine out to discos."

"I'll have you know that Nikolas is the one dragging Claudia Cassadine out to discos. I can't believe that after all of our warnings you could do something so stupid."

"Look who's talking," Johnny said. "Three empty boats in the middle of the Mediterranean?" Johnny cracked up. "Dad must be really ticked off right about now."

That sobered Claudia up. She shook her head. "I don't know, John. A year and a half in paradise, and the second Daddy tries to hurt my family, I become feral. He sent forty men out to get us. I personally killed fifteen. I have a feeling Nikolas and I are not going to end up in the same place if there's an afterlife."

Johnny poured a brandy and held it out to Claudia. She shook her head.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure. And I'm pregnant."

Johnny downed the whole glass. He coughed a little. Then he recovered. "Congratulations," he said.

"Yeah, you'd think so, wouldn't you?"

Johnny sat down next to Claudia on the couch. She could not get used to his shaved head. Then again, her blonde helmet was probably freaking him out.

She poked him. "What are _you_ up to?"

"Everything," he said. "I went into the Amazon on a kayak. Horseback safari in Kenya. And in two months, I'm headed out to Antarctica as a mechanic."

"Oh God."

He grinned. "Yeah."

Claudia pulled him toward her and hugged him tightly. "I love you," she said. "But I still think you're insanely stupid."

"Seems like old times."'

She pulled back and studied him. "Do you have anybody?"

"You think I'd tell you?"

She laughed, but her smile didn't reach her eyes.

He looked her in the eye. "Claudia," he said. "What's going on?"

******************************************

Port Charles University. Dorm Room.

Michael was fast asleep. He'd almost pulled an all-nighter the night before, but didn't manage to make it to the sun coming up. He'd probably get a B on his biology test today, which meant no Fall break for him. Not if he wanted to get into med school. Even though Michael had never been able to make up the year he'd missed while he was in the coma, he'd managed to graduate top of his class from high school and got a full ride from P.C.U. Exactly what he had wanted. From now on, he was going to make his own way and not have to deal with anyone's expectations. It didn't keep Edward Quartermaine off his back, but it meant he didn't own him anything.

There was a knock at the door. Michael didn't stir.

The door swung open and Morgan entered. He cautiously approached Michael's bed.

Michael was nasty when you woke him up. It didn't last long, but it wasn't exactly something you volunteered to do.

Morgan sat on the bed. He gently shook Michael's shoulder.

Michael's eyes shot open. He sat up, predictably grumpy, saying, "What are you doing here, freak?"

Morgan figured he'd better get to it. "Dad's kid with Claudia is sick. He needs a bone marrow transplant. Mom says if I get tested, you'll hate me. Will you?"

Michael was quiet, taking it all in. Then he got up and started making a pot of coffee.

Morgan didn't know what to make of Michael's reaction.

Michael finally turned to face him. "What's wrong with him? Claudia's kid."

"Leukemia."

Damn, that kid couldn't be more than what? A year and a half old? This was going to be rough. "You know what stage?"

Morgan shook his head.

Michael held his coffee cup under the drip until it was full. Then he replaced it with the coffee pot and went to sit next to Morgan. "I won't hate you."

"You won't? Mom seemed pretty sure."

"Mom thinks everyone she's related to should think exactly the way she thinks. For the record, I don't hate Claudia's kid. I hate Claudia. Big difference."

"So you think I should do it?"

"I think you have to do it. He's a baby. You're going to let a baby die because of a grudge? That's petty. That's Mom and Dad. That's not you, Morgan. You wouldn't be able to live with yourself."

"So we'll be okay?"

"The only way we won't be okay is if you make this kid pay for his mother's mistake." Something occurred to Michael. "Do you know if Claudia's in town?"

Morgan shook his head, barely taking in his brother's question. Everything was going to be okay. He was going to do the right thing. Now he just had to let his mother know.

******************************************

Port Charles. General Hospital. Jonah's Hospital Room. Morning.

Jonah was now staying at the hospital. They needed to monitor him more closely, Matt said. Keep him safe from infection.

Nikolas had had a cot set up in Jonah's room. Every time Jonah woke up, Nikolas was up within seconds and at his side.

A guard brought in breakfast. Nikolas nodded at him. The guard put the breakfast down on the counter and left.

Jonah's eyes slowly opened.

Nikolas smiled at Jonah. "Good morning, Jonah. Welcome to today."

Jonah smiled at Nikolas.

"What do you say, Солнышко? Are you ready to get up?"

Jonah yawned and pushed himself up to a sitting position.

Nikolas pulled over the toddler high chair he'd had delivered to the room and lifted Jonah out of the bed.

Jonah's eyes widened when he saw the room. His head turned from side to side, trying to take everything in, as Nikolas placed him in the chair.

Nikolas had spent most of the night quietly decorating the hospital room. There were yellow, green and blue balloons tied to the end of Jonah's bed. Photos of everyone Jonah loved were framed and placed around the room -- there wasn't one of Spencer, but Nikolas was hoping to get a Spencer Cassadine Original Finger Painting once Spencer arrived next week. A palomino rocking horse waited to be played upon at the foot of the bed. A bright blue rocking chair stood beside a small yellow bookshelf filled with Jonah's favorite picture story books. And one corner of the room had a multi-colored rug covered in toys.

Nikolas went over to the sink and picked up a special plate, fork and spoon. He dragged a table tray over to Jonah's high chair.

Jonah laughed when he saw the plate. It was a Batman plate.

Nikolas felt his whole body relax in relief. In Port Charles, he never knew whether he'd gone overboard or he'd done the right thing until he was at the crucial moment. With anyone. Things were different on the Island. Especially with Jonah; he and Jonah seemed to understand each other very well. Must have been those evenings early in Jonah's life, walking up and down the halls of the Main House together when Jonah had colic and Claudia needed her rest for the night shift.

Nikolas took the food from the tray the guard had brought in and covered the Batman plate with it.

"If you eat all of this, piccolo," Nikolas said, "you get to see Batman again."

Jonah looked puzzled.

"Batman," Nikolas said. "That's the man in the funny suit on your plate."

Jonah touched the Batman band-aid on Nikolas' chin.

"That's right."

Nikolas picked up the Giacchi from Jonah's bed and put it on Jonah's breakfast table.

Then he got up to put some juice in a sippy cup decorated with a fireman.

There was a knock at the door. Leslie and Alexis.

Nikolas opened the door.

Leslie kissed him hello. When they pulled away from each other, Nikolas gestured at Leslie's long, dangling earrings.

"Jonah --"

"He's reached the pulling phase, huh?," Leslie smiled, taking off her earrings and hurrying over to Jonah, a large envelope tucked under her arm. "Hello, Jonah. Remember me?"

Jonah clapped his hands.

Leslie looked down at the meal Nikolas had spread out for Jonah. "Breakfast time, huh? Let me help you with that while Daddy talks to Aunt Alexis. And you know what? I have some presents for you. From Cameron and Jake."

"I'll be back soon, Jonah," Nikolas said.

"Bye," Jonah said.

Nikolas slipped outside with Alexis.

****************************************

General Hospital. Hallway Outside of Jonah's Room.

Nikolas made sure the guard was in place and made his way down the hall with Alexis.

As soon as he looked into Alexis' eyes, he groaned. "What?"

"I'm not sure," she said. "Interpol contacted me. They wanted information from me, but wouldn't give me anything in return. Mac is at a dead end too."

"What kind of information did they want from you?"

"'Has Anthony Zacchara been in the neighborhood?' 'Is it possible he might have fled to Italy, specifically Milan?'" Alexis did a pretty good Secret Agent Man impression, if she did say so herself.

"Claudia's Uncle Rudy is in Milan. If Anthony's there, that's probably the first place he'd visit."

"Can you call Rudy?"

"No. We're trying to make sure he doesn't know Jonah's been in this country until we're safely back on the Island."

"Maybe Mac can get Anna to contact the WSB."

"I'd appreciate it."

"I was wondering if Claudia --"

Nikolas' eyes narrowed and focused beyond Alexis. He stormed past Alexis. Alexis turned to see a man -- not a guard, not police -- a complete stranger -- turning door handle to Jonah's room. Jonah's guard was facing Nikolas, his head turned away from the door. Nikolas didn't hesitate, he grabbed the guard's gun as he passed him, and he undid the safety. With one swift movement, he held the gun to the would-be intruder's head.

"Take your hand away from the door and put both hands on top of your head," Nikolas said, coolly.

The intruder didn't move.

"The safety is undone. The gun is loaded." Nikolas removed a gun from the intruder's holster. "You are disarmed. You have lost any chance you ever had at your bounty. The police are a heartbeat away. Back away from the door, put your hands on your head, and kneel on the ground, or every witness here will be telling the police that my gun unexpectedly went off by accident."

The intruder backed away from the door and did as Nikolas said.

"One and a half years old. That's the age of the child you were going to abduct," Nikolas said. "You must be very proud of the life you've made for yourself." Nikolas turned to the guard. "You are relieved of your position. Permanently. I'll be keeping your gun."

"Nikolas...," Alexis began.

Nikolas almost imperceptibly shook his head. He did not lower the gun. He knelt down next to the intruder and leaned in close. "You are going to wish you had never been born," Nikolas whispered. "And then I will destroy you."

Alexis couldn't hear what Nikolas was saying, but from the look in his eyes, she could tell. Stavros might have been Nikolas' biological father, but Stefan was who Nikolas had become. Compliments of Claudia.

Nikolas stood up, looking every inch the reasonable businessman, as two policemen rounded the corner.

*****************************************

Hotel Suite. Living Room. Athens. Greece.

Johnny sat close to Claudia on the couch, his arm around her.

"I wasn't supposed to have children, John. I've always known that."

"What? You were supposed to live and die alone?"

"What kind of mother conceives a child in order to prevent her own murder?"

John was silent.

"I keep thinking back, to the night I gave birth. I didn't even pay attention to the umbilical cord being cut. I just wanted to meet my son." She looked up at Johnny. "One moment. In that one moment, I could have changed _everything_."

"Maybe they've already found a match."

Claudia shook her head. "The instant they find one, Nikolas will send the jet back to me. He hasn't done it. How long does it take to test a handful of people?" She began to cry. "Jonah just started walking. Hasn't said a complete sentence. He hasn't even had his first temper tantrum."

"Hey," Johnny said, pulling her closer to him. "He still has a chance."

She looked up into his eyes. "I thought we could be happy. I was a fool. Love kills. And then there's Spencer."

"Claudia."

"I knew -- I _knew -- _I told Nikolas that having another child was like signing Spencer's death warrant. But Nikolas is so confident and stubborn. You tell him the volcano is going to erupt and he says, 'Didn't we want a new surface on the driveway anyway?' And when I stop laughing, and tell him to get serious, he says, 'We'll build a moat to catch the lava.' Except he says it using four-syllable words." She wiped away her tears. "I can't resist him. Any of them. My three guys just look at me, and I'm learning to sail, I'm sitting on the floor playing Candy Land -- I'm killing fifteen men who are coming in with the tide. I was so hard-wired to want another child with Nikolas, it was like shooting fish in a barrel for him."

Johnny leaned over and grabbed a tissue from a box on the coffee table. Then he wiped Claudia's face dry.

"You done?," he said.

"Are you kidding? I could go on for days."

"We don't have that long. And I have a few suggestions. Number one, I'm going to Port Charles to get tested."

"But that's where Daddy will be looking for you."

"Our father has never been able to kill me. Never. When I was little, it was because you and my mother protected me. Later, it was because of dumb luck. Now? It's because I know how to protect myself. He'll never even know I was there."

"No, John."

"You think you can stop me?"

Claudia rose from the couch. She brushed her hand through her hand, momentarily taken aback that there was so little of it there.

"Number two, I can take Spencer with me," Johnny said.

Claudia looked at the door to the room where Spencer was sleeping. And then she came back to the couch. She spoke softly. "Thank you, John. But I can't let you do that. He isn't ready."

"Ready for what?"

"For what happens if Helena or Anthony find him."

Johnny narrowed his eyes. "What are you up to, Claudia?"

"My oldest son's survival."

****************************************************

A Village Outside of Athens. Greece.

The emotion was one that Helena had never felt before. So it took some time for her to identify what the little spasms were that very occasionally interrupted her thought process. Regret. Bouts of momentary regret that she'd first approached Claudia with a knife drawn.

Up until Nikolas, Claudia's loyalty seemed to lie with whomever could ensure her survival. Helena was certain that even Nikolas fell into that category, whether Claudia "loved" him or not. Hadn't her grandson saved Claudia's life, after all?

Claudia would have been an asset to Helena's team. Helena still couldn't figure out how the woman had gotten off that island with Spencer. Until Helena had had the water between the island and the coast of Greece dragged. Her divers had been reluctant to even tell Helena about the sunken sailboat; it looked like it had gone down due to a natural disaster. Helena made the divers return to the ship once Majorca had proved pointless. The divers had then found a hole in the ship's floor, but no carving tool. And no record of the ship that had eventually carried the sunken craft's passengers to shore.

Helena still wasn't sure how it was done, but Claudia had outsmarted her. The woman was probably somewhere in Russia by now, with Spencer by her side.

No, Helena's only weakness was in working with incompetents. Such as Claudia's father. The man had deep-seated issues, and was incredibly offensive. Helena would do away with him and the other child as soon as she had Spencer within her grasp.

Helena leaned against the pier railing as the sun slowly came up. She was having her technicians check and re-check where Nikolas' email had been sent to. There would be no more mistakes. Helena would wait as long as it took until she was sure. And then she would make her move. She'd have leverage. Something psychological to work with.

Her grandson was so weak. Useless to Helena, with his refusal to concede to what was best for the family and his dreamy flights into romantic fantasy. Pity she couldn't have gotten to know his soon-to-be deceased wife under better circumstances.

***************************************************

General Hospital. 6th Floor Hallway.

"I think he's right around here if we just follow the blue line," Sam said.

"Or we could just look down the hall and see your cousin sitting outside of his son's room," Dante said.

Sam looked up.

Nikolas sitting just outside a patient's door, was keeping vigil with a gun at his side.

"Nikolas," Sam called out.

Nikolas stood up. He nodded at Dante as Sam and Dante approached him. "Thanks for coming," Nikolas said.

"Not at all," Dante said. "I'm sorry it took so long." Dante looked down at the gun. "Have you had trouble?"

"First abduction attempt since we arrived. The guard wasn't even looking in the right direction."

Sam gently took the gun from Nikolas. "I can take it from here," she said.

"I'm fine," Nikolas said.

"I'm better," Sam said. "Trust me."

Dante pulled Nikolas aside. "I'm going to try to get an FBI detail out here. If we can get Anthony Zacchara on anything, half of your problems are solved. Now tell me where to get tested."

******************************************************

Athens Hotel Room. Morning.

Claudia tipped the bellboy in Euros, and closed the door behind him. She began setting up breakfast on the coffee table.

Spencer came sleepily out of the bedroom. He looked around the room.

"Where's Uncle John?," he asked.

"He had to go, amico. Come. Sit."

Spencer flopped down on the couch. "I like your breakfast better."

"Thank you. Not too much longer." She handed him a plate of scrambled eggs and a fork. "Can you handle this?"

He rolled his eyes, looking just like Nikolas. She laughed.

"You ready to keep going?," she asked.

He nodded.

"Okay. What do you have for me?"

He thought for a moment, and then said, "You're ugly."

Claudia went to the window and checked outside. "They won't care about that. In fact, Helena might not like it at all."

"You're stupid."

Claudia opened the front door and peered outside. No one there. She closed the door. "That's pretty good. My father would love that. But Helena would like something like... 'an idiot.' Can you manage that? 'You're an idiot.'"

"You're a itiot."

"An idiot."

"An idiot."

"Nice." Claudia poured herself a cup of tea and fixed a plate for herself. "But you want to tell me why you're not going for the main event?"

"What?"

"What happened to the one I told you to practice?" She reached into her purse for her pre-natal vitamins.

"I don't like it."

Claudia knew she was asking a lot of Spencer. But if they were caught, she was positive that the key to his survival would be Helena believing she could mold him. And Anthony believing that Spencer hated Claudia. "I know you don't like it," Claudia said. " But it won't hurt my feelings. And you and I both know it's not true, so what does it matter what anyone else thinks?"

"Why can't I get tested to help Jonah?" Straight out of left field.

That stopped Claudia cold. She sat down next to Spencer.

"Well, first off, pirata, you're too young. The doctors won't let anyone your age donate. And they have very good reasons. It's not safe. Daddy and I don't want you to get hurt."

"It's not because we're special brothers?"

"No," Claudia said. "Not in this case." Nikolas and Claudia had explained to Spencer that they were a "special" family, because they all had chosen each other. It wasn't every family that loved each other because they wanted to. Some families loved each other because they had to. "Anyone old enough who is related by blood could be tested. And even though you got to choose Jonah as part of your family, you're also related by blood."

"Really?"

"Really. Like a cousin."

"Like with Cameron and Jake?"

Now _there_ was a potential minefield. "Not exactly. But that's the general idea. Okay?"

Spencer looked pensive. It scared Claudia a little. He was silent for a little while. "Okay."

Claudia hugged him. "You want to tell me that I'm stupid again?"

"You're an idiot," Spencer corrected.

"That's right. And what else are you going to tell my daddy and your great-grandmother about me?"

Spencer was silent. Claudia waited. Still no answer.

"Okay. Let's make this like story-time. We're together, your great-grandmother and my daddy come to take you away. I tell you to do something. And you say?"

Spencer got an extremely pained look on his face.

"This should be a lot more fun than you're making it out to be, Spencer. When you're fifteen, and you're not allowed to say this to me, you're going to wish you'd had a little more fun with it when you were almost five."

Spencer took a deep breath and muttered, "You're not my real mother."

Claudia applauded and then kissed him. "Was that so hard? I tell you what -- if you do again, and do it better, I'll make myself cry. I'm really good at that. But you don't get to see it until you do your part really well."

**********************************************************

General Hospital. Night.

Jonah kept saying the word, "Mama," over and over again.

"I miss her, too, piccolo."

Jonah reached for Nikolas. Nikolas picked him up.

"What a big boy you're getting to be. Spencer is not going to be able to boss you around when we're all together again."

Nikolas lifted Jonah over his head, and opened his mouth wide, as if he were about to nibble on Jonah's toes.

He fake-gasped. "Jonah!"

"What?"

"Who put socks on you?"

"Dada."

"No."

"Yes."

"Why would I do that?"

Jonah reached down and pulled at his socks.

"Do you want them off?"

Jonah nodded. Jonah hated socks. Idiosyncracy. One of his only ones.

Nikolas sat down in the rocking chair chair, and put Jonah on his lap. He pulled off Jonah's socks and threw them aside.

Jonah laughed.

"All better? Let me tell you a story. Okay, piccolo?"

Jonah touched Nikolas' nose. Jonah smiled and yawned.

"Once upon a time," Nikolas said, "there was an unhappy prince. He was very mean, and grumpy. And he lived in a house that looked like it was decorated by Dracula. Your mother made that part up," he said as an aside to Jonah. Jonah smiled, not comprehending. "And one day, a beautiful lady washed up from the sea. And the man, not knowing what to do, took her home. She was sick, for a very long time. And the man took care of her. He wasn't very nice about it. But little by little, he began to change. It wasn't even anything he noticed at first. His mouth began to change shape. It took some time to realize it, but the man figured out that he was _smiling_. What is this?, the man thought."

There was a knock on the door. Nikolas looked up. Lulu. He looked down at Jonah. Jonah was asleep.

Nikolas gently placed Jonah back down on the tiny bed and raised the sides. He tucked his son in. He kissed the small forehead.

He went outside.

****************************************************************

General Hospital. Hallway outside of Jonah's Room.

Nikolas looked at Sam. "Would you mind taking a break and seeing if there's any news about Dante's test?"

"Not at all," she said, rising and handing Nikolas the gun. "I'll be right back."

"Thank you. Matt's office is on the 2nd floor."

Sam walked away, out of sight, as she headed for the elevators. Nikolas put the gun in his pocket.

Lulu looked at Nikolas. He looked wiped out.

"Why don't you go home and get some sleep once Sam gets back? I can stay with Jonah."

Nikolas pulled Lulu a little way down the hall. "You don't understand. My family -- we do everything together. And when we don't, we're all five seconds away from each other. I'm all he has. I have to stay close. I --" Nikolas stopped as he saw a muscular stranger with a shaven head turn the handle to Jonah's room door.

He rushed to the door, and pulled the stranger's arm up painfully against his back.

"Who sent you? Huh?," he said, jerking the strangers arm up ever higher. "Helena? Anthony?"

"Nikolas, no," Lulu said, trying to pull Nikolas away from the stranger. "It's --"

"Your wife sent me," the stranger answered, shoving Nikolas away from him and turning around to face him. "Is this any way to treat your brother-in-law?"

Nikolas' jaw dropped open. Johnny smiled at Lulu before turning back to Nikolas.

"Now where do I get tested?," Johnny asked. "And when do I get to see Jonah?"

********************************************************

Crimson Pointe. New York. Night.

It took awhile for Anthony to go inside the house. He decided to fuel his fury by checking on Maria's roses first. Dead. All dead. Claudia's fault.

He went around to the front of the house. All the windows were boarded up. Someone had better take care of that in the morning.

Once inside, he ruminated. He'd wanted Claudia dead from the moment he'd found out Domenica was having a girl. Even the most hardened of his hitmen couldn't get onboard with that. But Anthony had been right. Every single bad thing that had ever happened to him was because of her. She'd poisoned John's mind, gave him the desire to run away every chance he got. She'd betrayed Anthony by siding with Sonny and sending her own father away to state prison. And once he was inside, she and that whipped husband of hers had dismantled the Zacchara organization.

For some reason, the international news reports weren't talking about what had happened with the Fracassa Clinic in Italy. Probably Rudy's doing. Domenica's snivelling younger brother. Don't think Anthony hadn't tried to get to him too before leaving Italy. Rudy had an army of men guarding the Chiarelli Compound. Probably mostly Zacchara men, but Anthony couldn't risk trying to get one of them to turn on Rudy. No one wanted anything to do with him now. If anyone had, Anthony would have had his grandson by his side already, and one of the renegades on the Eastern Seaboard would have collected the $100,000 bounty Anthony had put on the child's safe passage to him.

But that was okay. If Claudia didn't find out about Domenica before she got to Port Charles, Anthony would catch her up before she got to General Hospital. And then she'd do exactly what she was told.

He checked his watch. Almost morning. Almost time to get the house ready for his grandson's homecoming.

*********************************************************

Just Outside of a Hotel in Athens. Greece. Late morning.

Ric hated cliches. He really hated "and a child shall lead them." Since when had a child led anyone?

The little boy who'd met him at Hadrian's Arch a few days ago was unpleasant. But Helena said he would be useful. Helena said he would be happy to help. Helena said she'd been tracking this boy for almost a year. Helena also said that this little boy would be able to find Spencer anywhere. Unfortunately, Ric did not speak Greek and the little boy didn't speak English. And the translator had left after the first day, after making it clear what Ric wanted from the boy. The boy had shown up at Ric's hotel this morning. Hadn't bothered to say a word. Just led Ric here.

The boy punched Ric's thigh. Ric restrained himself from hitting back.

"What?," Ric said.

The boy pointed.

Ric couldn't figure out who the boy was pointing to. All he saw were a pack of tacky American tourists with a .... blonde Claudia. He'd recognize that body anywhere. He knew every inch of it. And the little blonde boy with her had to be Spencer.

Ric reached into his pocket and pulled out a pile of Euros. He handed them to the little boy. "Thank you, Costas," he said, teeth clenched. "I'll take it from here." Ric couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw a look of recognition in Costas' eyes. The boy smiled and walked away.


	9. Chapter 9

Hotel Suite. Bathroom. Marriott Hotel. Athens. Greece.

Claudia gave Spencer's hair one more shake of the towel and then looked him over. He still looked wrong as a blond, but at least his roots weren't showing anymore.

"Is it good?," Spencer asked.

"It's better than it was," Claudia said.

Spencer turned around to look in the mirror as Claudia peeled her rubber gloves off and stuffed them in the garbage bag. She'd have to take care of that when they went out today.

"I want a tattoo," Spencer said.

Claudia looked down at him, nodding seriously, as if she were considering the possibility of reuniting with Nikolas in Port Charles with a tattooed Spencer. Yeah. Like that was going to happen. Nikolas may have been excited to finally get his own tattoo in adulthood, but there was no way he was letting Spencer get one at the ripe old age of four.

"What would you get a tattoo of?," Claudia asked.

"A horse."

Claudia nodded again, while she took out a fresh rubber glove. Then she reached into her purse and drew out a marker.

She handed the marker and the glove to Spencer. "Draw a horse on the glove," she said.

He looked skeptically at her.

"Trust me," she said. Spencer dropped down to the ground and began to draw on the glove.

Claudia looked in the mirror. She had done a decent enough touch-up job on her own roots, but she hoped there wasn't too much more of this. She didn't like the idea of poisoning the baby. She raised her arms as she swept the little that was left of her hair up on top of her head.

"Mommy!"

Claudia whirled around at the shocked note in Spencer's voice. "What is it?"

"The baby!" Spencer pointed to Claudia's belly. She looked down. At some point during the night, her belly must have popped.

Claudia had really, really wanted the baby to wait until they were reunited with Nikolas. Nothing to be done about it now. At least the baby hadn't kicked yet. If this child did not wait for that until Nikolas was there, Claudia was going to hold a grudge. No matter how lovable the kid was.

"You're right," Claudia said, resting her hand on her belly. Nikolas' baby. Her whole body suddenly warmed.

"Can I touch her?"

Claudia sat down next to Spencer on the floor and took his hand, placing it on her abdomen.

"Hello," Spencer said, into her belly.

Claudia brushed her hand through his hair. Spencer was an excellent big brother. Probably got it from Nikolas.

"Claudee?"

"Yes, amico?"

"Did you know my other mommy? The one who carried me in her tummy?"

"No," Claudia said gently. It was Cassadine family policy to always tell the truth and to not avoid questions. And Nikolas and Claudia knew questions about Courtney would eventually come up. Somehow, Claudia always thought Nikolas would be the one to field these questions. But in some ways, Claudia was the perfect person to ask. She'd been in Spencer's shoes when she was only three years older than he was now. She put her hand to Spencer's cheek, turning his face up to hers. "But..."

"What?"

"I know she had to be special."

"Why?"

"Because she made you."

"Your daddy made you," Spencer said. "Is he special?"

"Oh, believe me," Claudia muttered, "he's all kinds of special." She stopped herself from going any further. "Do you want a lap?," she asked, gesturing to her own.

"I don't want to hurt the baby."

"You could never hurt the baby. Come on."

Spencer carefully climbed up on to Claudia's lap.

"So. Did you know that you were blond when you were a baby?"

"Was not."

"Were too. Just like your mommy."

"You said you didn't know her."

"Ah. But your daddy knew her, right? And guess what? He told me some things."

"Like what?"

Claudia brushed his hair back from his face. It was still a little damp. "Like... How sweet she was. How she could always make him laugh -- I think you get that from your mother." Claudia smiled wryly, remembering something. "And how bad she was at playing 'Let's Pretend.'"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when she first met Daddy, it seemed like they weren't supposed to be together. Even though they made each other happy. And even when they wanted to be together. But they kept bumping into each other. Almost like something greater than them was pushing them together every chance it got. And one day, they got stuck. Together. On the roof of General Hospital."

"Daddy got stuck?"

"Yeah, I know. Hard to believe, right? And you'd think, knowing Daddy, that he would've gotten all grumpy and serious. Especially when it started to rain."

Spencer laughed.

"So there they were, stuck on the roof, dripping, and their hair was plastered down on their faces like yours is when you get out of the bath. And it was cold. But none of that mattered to Daddy. Because he was with your mommy. Your other mommy."

And even though he was a little too old for it, Spencer sucked on his thumb and leaned against Claudia.

"And whenever he was with your mother," Claudia continued, "he was happy." Stories about Emily and Courtney never bothered Claudia. And she'd noticed that Nikolas had become more relaxed the more she'd encouraged him to talk about Emily and Courtney. That raving lunatic Nurse Nadine had actually tried chasing Emily's ghost out the room. _And people think _I'm _insane, _ Claudia thought. She reached back into the recesses of her mind. _Stuck on the hospital roof._ _ Raining._ "So... to pass the time, Daddy tried to play a game. Of 'Let's Pretend.' He tried to make your mommy make believe they'd met somewhere else. Some other time. When they were supposed to be together. And your mother couldn't do it."

"Why not?" Spencer's voice was muffled by his thumb.

Claudia smiled a little. And kissed the top of his head. "Because she was a good person. Probably one of the best. Good people find it hard to lie, to pretend. That's why you have a hard time lying."

She looked down at Spencer.

"You know, Spencer, I didn't get to spend too much time with my mother either. But our mothers gave us things, things that no one can take away from us. Like your hands." Claudia took one of his small hands in hers and traced his fingers with her own. "You see how long your fingers are? Daddy says your mother's fingers were the same way. Like how my hair is the same color as my mother's." _When I'm not being hunted by sociopaths,_ she silently added. "And then there's the way you can't tell a lie very easily, even when it's important -- that's another thing your mother gave you. And you know what? Our mothers also gave us their love. They gave us so much love, that sometimes, I think, if we're really quiet, we can feel them around us."

"Really?"

"You tell me. You keep trying, and you tell me what happens. Okay?"

"Yes."

"Good. Give me a hug."

Spencer hugged Claudia tightly, and she hugged him back.

"Thank you," she said, pulling back from him. "Can I see the horse on your glove?"

Spencer reached down and picked up the glove, handing it to Claudia.

"Very nice. Now let's say the glove is your skin. And the horse is your tattoo."

"I'm going to get a better horse. From a real tattoo man."

"And I believe you. But even though I know how much you're like your other mommy, do you think you can play 'Let's Pretend' just this once?"

"You ask me to play 'Let's Pretend' all the time."

Claudia was getting the feeling Spencer would be having double desserts with every meal for the remainder of their trip. "When you get bigger," Claudia said, ignoring his jab, "your skin stretches, so it can fit the bigger You. And look what happens to the tattoo." Claudia stretched the glove, distorting the "horse" Spencer had drawn.

Spencer looked on, horrified.

"That's right. So what do you think?"

"I think I'm going to wait to get a tattoo."

"Good decision."

***************************************

Port Charles. General Hospital. Jonah's Hospital Room.

Johnny stared down at a sleeping Jonah, completely entranced.

"How much longer, do you think?," he whispered. Dante hadn't been a match, and now Johnny was hoping against hope that he'd be the one to change Jonah's luck.

"You don't have to whisper," Nikolas said. "Both of the boys can sleep through anything." _Except colic,_ Nikolas thought. "A few more hours and we'll have your results. How's Claudia?"

Johnny reluctantly turned away from Jonah. He crossed his arms. "What do you mean, 'How's Claudia?' She's freaking out. What did you expect?"

Nikolas nodded. "We're both in a little over our heads with this one."

"And why is that?," Johnny said accusingly.

Nikolas' face began to heat. Claudia's brother had no idea -- no idea what it was like getting Claudia to trust life. To trust that she could have one.

"Wait," Lulu said to Johnny. "Are you trying to make this Nikolas' fault? Because your sister --"

"My sister was smart enough to know that no matter how much she wanted a baby, it would put Spencer's life in danger."

Lulu's jaw dropped. "Claudia's _pregnant?_"

"Why do you think she's not here, Lulu? The doctors said she can't fly yet."

"What does that have to do with Spencer?"

Johnny stared at Nikolas, waiting for him to answer.

Nikolas glared at Johnny. He knew Johnny loved Claudia, but he always seemed eager to do something that would sign her death sentence. First with Michael's shooting and now this. "I can see you're still as discreet and cautious as ever," Nikolas said to Johnny. "That makes a total of seven people who now know. Would you like to storm over to your father's house and let him know as well? Because he arrived last night and, fortunately for you, we swept this room for bugs twenty minutes ago."

Johnny's face fell as soon as he'd realized what he'd done.

"I trust that the complete severity of this situation is now apparent to you," Nikolas continued. "I realize it was foolish of me to want another child with Claudia. But I don't regret it."

"You manipulated her."

Nikolas had had enough. "You don't understand the complexities of our relationship. And you don't understand Claudia."

"I don't understand my sister?"

"Not the way I do."

Johnny laughed bitterly. "Arrogant as ever."

"Could you both just back off for a second and explain to me why Claudia's pregnancy puts Spencer in danger?," Lulu interrupted.

"Ped."

The adults all looked at the now-awake Jonah.

"Ciao," Jonah said to Johnny. Johnny's eyes softened.

"Ciao, Jonah," Johnny said. "I'm your Uncle John."

***************************************

Port Charles. Matt and Liz's House. Master Bedroom. Midnight.

Matt finished packing his duffle bag and then went to the bed and knelt by it.

"Liz," he whispered. "Liz"

Her eyes slowly opened. "You're home."

"Only for an hour. I'm sorry I'm waking you up, but if you want to talk, this is probably the only time we're going to have for awhile."

Liz dragged herself to a sitting position. "How's Jonah?"

"No match yet, but we just ran another test, so ... fingers crossed. Can I turn on the light?"

"Sure."

Matt turned on the lamp next to the bed. Liz recoiled, closing her eyes.

"Sorry."

"It's okay." She slowly re-opened her eyes. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm basically mainlining coffee." He sat down next to her on the bed. "I couldn't tell you. About Nikolas. He asked me not to tell anyone."

"He's mad at me."

"I don't know. I don't know about anything, really. Except Jonah. And I think that's why he told me. Because no one's going to be following me around looking for clues. But you're his best friend."

She looked away from Matt. "I think we both know that's not true. Not anymore."

"Nah. He's just being stubborn."

"I wrote him. All those letters."

"Do you want to know what I think?"

"Please."

"I think he only read the first one."

"Come on, Matt."

"Seriously. Anyone who read any of the other letters would have already been in touch with you."

Liz was silent for a little while. "Do you think Claudia threw the other letters out?"

"I don't know. What good would that do?"

"One less enemy in her face?"

"You know, I've seen _The Godfather._"

"And?"

"And the mobsters in this town seem to copy that film a lot. The last thing Claudia said to you was that she owed you. If we're going by _The Godfather_, I don't think Claudia would be throwing your letters out. She'd probably be trying to get Nikolas to read them. You haven't found a horse's head in your bed lately, have you?"

Liz laughed. "No."

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure Claudia's not the problem."

"It can be really hard to change Nikolas' mind. Once he's had a bad experience with someone, it takes him years to get over it."

Matt didn't say anything, but he looked like he wanted to.

"What?"

"What what?"

"Matt, I'm too tired to go around adding more 'whats' to this conversation. What do you want to say?"

"Nothing."

"But..."

"But I think you'd be a little more sympathetic to Nikolas." Matt looked extremely uncomfortable saying all of this. "Since you're exactly the same way."

"You think I'm stubborn?"

"I think... I think that if you hadn't been through what you've been through with Lucky and Ric, you and I would at least be engaged."

"I told you, I'm not ready to --"

"Well, maybe, Nikolas is not ready to. Think about it." Matt leaned in and kissed Liz. "I forgive you for the file thing, but please don't do it again. I'll call you when we know something."

Matt got up.

"Matt," Liz called to him.

He turned back to her.

"I don't want to ruin things with us," she said.

"Just something to think about," he said.

And then he left the room.

***************************************

Port Charles. General Hospital. Hospital Cafeteria.

Johnny pushed his French Fries around his plate.

Lulu reached over and stilled his hand.

He looked up and smiled weakly at her.

"So tell me," she said. "What have you been up to?"

His smile strengthened. "What makes you think I'd tell you?"

Lulu raised an eyebrow. "Because I have ways of making you talk."

Johnny laughed. "That sounds so wrong coming out of your mouth."

"Are you happy?," she blurted out.

Johnny thought about her question. "Mostly," he said. "I'm finally getting to do everything I ever wanted to do. I just have to watch my back a little, and I'm finally free."

"Then what's wrong?"

"I'm alone, Lulu."

"Oh."

"You know what I do when I get lonely?"

She shook her head.

"I sneak over to Greece. Hide out and follow Claudia whenever she leaves the Island."

"Johnny!"

"I can't help it. She's my only family. At first, I just wanted to know if she was okay. If she was happy. But then it was all about me. If Claudia's Uncle Rudy knew I was within two countries of Claudia, he'd have me drawn and quartered." Lulu looked horrified. "Not literally. But it wouldn't be pretty."

"I've missed you," Lulu said.

"I've missed you too. But it's different for you. You have family. Friends. Me missing people from my past is painful in other ways. Because there will never be anyone to take their place. Not if I'm going to live." He grew silent.

Lulu's heart started to beat faster. Like she was about to jump off the ledge of a building. "Johnny."

"What?"

"When you leave, I want to go with you."

**************************************

Port Charles. General Hospital. Jonah's Hospital Room.

Morgan sat on the floor with Jonah.

Sam had been on guard duty and let him in. She said Nikolas would have said it was okay.

Jonah pointed to Morgan's band-aid. "Uh-oh," he said.

"You're not kidding, Jonah," Morgan said. He looked closely at Jonah. "Do you know who I am?"

Jonah looked confused.

"I'm your brother."

"Ped."

"And no matter what, I'm always going to help you any way I can."

**************************************

Port Charles. Police Station.

Lucky finished up the paperwork for last night's assault report. When he looked up, Michael was there.

"Hi," Michael said.

"Hi, Michael. Aren't you supposed to be at school?"

"Where were you when you were supposed to be at college?"

Lucky smiled. "What can I do for you?"

"Do you know if Claudia's coming back to town?"

**************************************

Port Charles. General Hospital. Cafeteria.

By the time Nikolas got to the cafeteria, it looked like Lulu and Johnny had left. Until Nikolas remembered that Johnny looked different now.

Nikolas approached the table sat down across from Johnny.

"Where's Lulu?"

"She went to find you. She'll be back. How'd it go?," Johnny asked.

"No match," Nikolas answered.

Johnny sunk into his seat. "I was really hoping I'd be the one."

The two men looked at each other. Only one more chance for a match now. "There are other solutions," Nikolas said to Johnny. "But he's so young. They might..."

Nikolas' voice trailed off. Looking at him, Johnny all of sudden understood: Nikolas was Jonah's father. Like Claudia was Spencer's mother. The whole family was bonded by something stronger than blood.

"Thank you," Nikolas said. "For everything. I know exactly what you risked by coming here."

"He's my nephew," Johnny said. He pushed his plate of now-cold food away. He knew he probably shouldn't ask, but he was hungry for information about Claudia. A few hours hadn't been enough to really catch up. "How is she?"

"Happy. But she misses you."

"I miss her too."

Nikolas smiled at Johnny. "She has a friend now."

"Claudia?"

"No. The other sister of yours that I married. Yes, Claudia."

"What's the friend like?"

"Down to earth. Old soul. She doesn't know anything about Claudia's past, so --"

"So Claudia's free to be herself."

"Yes." How to approach this without getting into a death match? "You said -- you said she was undone when you saw her. How is she? Truly."

"In front of Spencer? Just fine. Alone? Trying to put a brave face on everything, but unraveling underneath."

"We thought we were safe. We thought we had everything figured out."

"That's always been Claudia's fatal flaw."

"Johnny, don't do that."

"Do what?"

Nikolas forced himself to be gentle. "She's smarter than you think. And she deserves a life."

Johnny shut up.

"You should leave now," Nikolas said. "Before anyone finds you here."

"I know."

"Do you have somewhere to go?"

"I'm not due for another two months, but I think I can get there early with no difficulties."

"Then you should do it now. Do you need anything? Money? A ride to the airport?"

"I'm good. Do me a favor?"

"What?"

"I'm gonna check the Catskills Craiglist every Tuesday. When it's Tuesday in Greece. Under Childcare. Just put something in there as soon as you know something. Claudia will know what to say. She's good at that stuff. I'll find it."

Nikolas nodded. They rose from the table.

"Keep her safe," Johnny said.

"With everything I have," Nikolas said.

*************************************

Port Charles Airport. International Gate.

Lulu's car pulled up in front.

Johnny turned to her. "You don't have to do this, Lulu."

"I want to."

"Take your time. Think about it. I have one year there."

"I'll see you in two months," she said.

"Dangerous."

"We're always dangerous."

They kissed.

Johnny got out of the car and went into the airport without a backwards glance. Lulu pulled away.

*************************************

Athens. Greece. A Bazaar. Evening.

Claudia and Spencer wandered among the merchants' wares, occasionally listening to the tour guide, and occasionally make rude remarks. But this jaunt actually had a purpose. Claudia needed to find some more loose clothing.

Right now, she was wearing one of Nikolas' button-down shirts over her own. It still smelled like him. God, she missed him. Being with Spencer made her miss Nikolas even more. And miss Jonah. On top of worrying about Jonah, she woke up most mornings and was halfway out of bed to go get him when she realized she was in a hotel, and Jonah was halfway around the world. There were times she could have sworn she heard him crying.

One more week. Although ... last time... Dr. Waters had said that due dates weren't really accurate. He had said they were more like "due weeks." That could have been a lie. They'd all lied so much about everything during her last pregnancy, she didn't know what was real anymore. Other women flew during the first trimester. But Dr. Doukos had said that Claudia's first pregnancy had been so difficult, they couldn't take any chances with this one. Anyway, none of that mattered. She couldn't do anything until the jet got back.

She caught a glimpse of herself in a car window and was taken aback. This was probably the first time she'd worn loose clothing since she was a little kid with red sneakers. It didn't feel right. But it got the job done. Enough for her to go shopping for some more loose clothing.

During their first conversation, Claudia had told Nikolas that guilt was a useless emotion. And it was true, Claudia rarely felt guilt. Once they'd gotten on the Island, she'd only looked back in order to protect her future.

A year and a half ago, Claudia had cheated death. The last year and a half had been a reprieve. Carrying Nikolas' child -- that wasn't tempting fate. That was spitting in the face of the gods. Every single moment that Claudia wasn't properly grateful and humble was probably being tallied somewhere. But Claudia defied anyone to be humble when they spent so much time with Nikolas. The man oozed entitled charm.

Every now and then, Claudia was suddenly struck by her dumb luck. As far as she knew, there were no fairy tales where the vixen ended up with Prince Charming. Realistically, she and Nikolas had barely known each other when they were suddenly married, and their families merged. He hadn't even waited until her divorce was final to propose. Someone less selfish than Claudia probably would have urged caution. Claudia wasn't that type of person. She was in love. And if Nikolas thought he was in love too, she was going to take advantage of every second until the bottom fell out. Oddly enough, that seemed to be one of the things Nikolas loved about her.

Claudia set down a pile of extra large shirts in front of a vendor. Spencer added a few toys to the pile. Claudia handed over a chunk of Euros.

And from a distance, Ric watched. Almost time to make his move.

*************************************

Helena's Jet. En Route to Port Charles.

Helena looked over toward her guest. Everything was taking effect. Everything had gone according to plan. Except for Anthony's part, of course. That useless savage was entirely too trigger-happy.

Helena, being of a more advanced species, was smarter than her partner. She knew you had to have leverage. She liked to toy with her prey before she killed it.

A minion refilled Helena's wine glass.

"Thank you," she said.

Time to play.

*************************************

Port Charles. General Hospital. Hallway Outside of Matt's Office. Afternoon.

Carly and Nikolas stood a few feet from each other. The hostility could be cut with a knife. They did not look at each other.

"The only reason this is happening at all," Carly said, "is because my son is the sweetest, most sensitive human being on the face of the planet."

_In other words, _Nikolas thought, _nothing like his mother._ But he held his tongue. But Carly surprised him with the next words out of her mouth.

"And because Courtney was my best friend. She would have wanted it."

Nikolas finally turned to face Carly. "Yes. She would have. Thank you."

Carly nodded, satisfied. "How's Spencer?"

"Good," Nikolas said, taken aback. "He... he has her smile."

Carly's eyes filled with tears.

Nikolas felt himself getting emotional. He turned away from Carly, collecting himself again.

**************************************

Port Charles. General Hospital. Rooftop. Evening.

Nikolas looked out onto the horizon. The sun was going down. Another day was over. But this one had ended perfectly.

_"I'm not going to sugarcoat this," Matt had said. "He's in for a rough time now."_

He dialed. The call connected. "Yes, this is Mr. Cassadine. Fly the jet back to Greece."

_"The prep is hard. Especially on someone this young."_

He hung up.

_"But the good news is that Jonah's chances just increased by about 50%. For a full life."_

Jonah finally had a match.

*************************************

Hotel Suite. Marriott Hotel. Living Room. Athens. Greece. Morning.

Claudia had slept late. Hormones, hormones, hormones, and yes, the exertion of creating another life inside her. What was Spencer's excuse?

"Come on, amico!," Claudia called out. "They're going to leave without us." There was a difference between obnoxiously making everyone else late (Ugly American style) and being so late that they all left without you. Claudia and Spencer were supposed to be aiming for the first. And they were about to miss the departure for this morning's tour.

Spencer stumbled into the living room, his shoelaces untied.

Claudia stifled a smile. "Come here," she said.

She knelt down and tied his shoelaces for him.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

Claudia opened the door and they stepped out into the hallway, the door locking shut behind them.

"Hello, Claudia," Ric said, stepping in front of them. "Fancy meeting you here."


	10. Chapter 10

Marriott Hotel. Hallway. Athens. Greece.

"Amico, get back in the room," Claudia said.

"No," Spencer said.

Maybe Nikolas was right about her being too indulgent with Spencer, Claudia thought.

"Get back in the room now," she said.

"You come too," Spencer said.

"Maybe he's picking up on something between you and me, Claudia," Ric said. "We always did have a special connection."

"Shut up," Claudia said.

"Until you betrayed me." Ric knelt down so that he was at eye level with Spencer. "Hello, Spencer. It's been a long time. I'm Uncle Ric."

Spencer looked up at Claudia, confused.

Claudia put a protective hand on Spencer's shoulder. "Your problem is with me, Ric. You trading in child trafficking now? Leave Spencer alone."

"Well, this is a switch," Ric said. "I didn't know you cared about kids." He looked into Spencer's eyes. "You know what your friend Claudia does to little boys?"

Spencer pulled away from Claudia, and rushed at Ric. Ric grabbed Spencer and held on to him tightly. Claudia reached out to grab Spencer back, and Ric pulled him away.

"Not so fast, Claudia."

"What do you want, Ric?," Claudia asked coldly, trying not to betray the panic that was rushing around her body with every heartbeat. "Tell me what to do."

"Let me go," Spencer said, trying to wriggle away from Ric.

"Now that I have your attention...," Ric said to Claudia. "See how easy this was for me? It could all be over for little Spencer right now. I have Helena on speed dial. And I certainly don't owe you anything but grief. I trusted you. And you betrayed me."

"You were trying to get your brother killed," Claudia said, her voice beginning to get shrill.

"And look how well siding with him turned out for you."

Spencer kicked Ric.

_Oh, God_, thought Claudia.

Ric smiled at the panic in Claudia's eyes. "You want him back? Say the magic word."

"Please," Claudia said.

"Was that so hard?"

Ric let Spencer go. Spencer ran to Claudia. She quickly opened the door to their room and pushed him inside, shutting the door behind him.

Spencer pounded on the door. "Mommy, no! Let me out!"

"Not now, baby," Claudia called to him.

Ric approached her slowly. She watched him carefully.

"What are you up to, Ric?"

He suddenly pushed her back, pressing her up against the door. He bent down and kissed her. Hard. She bit his lip, drawing blood, and then kicked him. Hard. Like son, like mother.

Ric staggered backwards.

Claudia pulled out her gun.

"Uh-uh," Ric said, gasping in pain. "Speed dial -- remember?"

Claudia slowly lowered her gun.

Ric wiped at his mouth and looked down at the blood that had smeared on his hand. He looked up, into Claudia's eyes.

"You can't say you expected anything different," Claudia said.

Ric smiled, and stood up. "So you're reading my mind now? What else can you see?"

"I can see you're in with the highest bidder. Probably in an attempt to catch up to your brother, who -- you may have noticed -- is not doing too well. You won, Ric. What more do you want?"

"You."

***************************************************

Port Charles. General Hospital. Matt's Office.

Carly and Morgan sat across from Matt.

"Before we go any further, I want to let you know what's in store, Morgan."

"Why?"

"Because this is a long process. And even though it's harder on Jonah, that doesn't mean this won't take up a lot of time for you too. And not all of it is pleasant."

"So I'm supposed to let Jonah die because I might go through something unpleasant?" Morgan was giving Matt a look that made Matt want to reach up on top of his head and make sure he hadn't sprouted horns.

"Let Dr. Hunter explain it all to you, Morgan. Please," Carly interceded.

Morgan shrugged his shoulders. "Do what you gotta do," he said.

"We're going to run some more tests. See how many different ways you match Jonah."

"What do you mean: "ways"?"

"Well, you passed the biggest hurdle. And the second biggest. Sometimes, the matching donor's blood-type doesn't match the recipient's blood-type. If that had happened, we would have had to change Jonah's blood-type. Which can be dangerous."

Morgan glanced over at his mother, just in time to see her eyes widen.

"Change his blood type?," she said incredulously.

"Yes," Matt said. "But like I said, we don't have to do that. Now what we want to do is make sure we've ruled out any possible way in which Jonah's body could reject the transplanted cells. Any rejection would drastically reduce his chances for survival."

"Wait a minute. I thought if I did this, I was saving Jonah."

"Nothing is one hundred percent, Morgan. And Jonah is very little. Everything we have to do to help his body prepare for the transplant is going to weaken him."

"What about Morgan?," Carly asked.

"What are you talking about?," Morgan said.

"I'm talking about the risks to you."

Morgan turned around in his chair so that he was facing Carly. "Jonah's my little brother. I'm going to do what I have to do. And I already promised him I would." He turned back to Matt. "You can run through your lists, and warn me, and get me upset about Jonah. And freak out my mother. But this is going to happen. So say what you have to say so I can agree to everything."

***************************************************

Port Charles. General Hospital. Monica's Office.

Nikolas came in so quietly, Monica didn't hear him. She was startled when she turned around to find him there.

"Sorry," she said.

"It's all right."

"Have a seat."

Nikolas didn't sit down. _That's right,_ Monica remembered. _Always a gentleman._ Monica sat down, and Nikolas followed suit.

"This is when we involve more people," Monica said.

"I know."

"Do you want to choose people from outside of General Hospital? Or use the doctors and staff we have here?"

"I'm going to bring in some specialists. People who have high success rates with Jonah's type of illness. But I thought the more we could use people from here who he knows and is comfortable with..."

"Like Matt."

"Like Matt. Like you. And Elizabeth. And Leslie."

"Leslie can't treat him."

"I know. But she can make him relax."

Monica shook her head. "None of this is going to be relaxing. None of this is going to be good. And it all has to start now if we want to begin the transplant as soon as Claudia arrives."

****************************************************

Marriott Hotel. Hallway. Athens. Greece.

"What do you mean?"

Ric laughed. "Look at yourself. This isn't you, Claudia. Playing Mary Poppins to Nikolas' child? How many times a day do you kick yourself?"

"Only when I think about sleeping with you," Claudia said. "I'm Spencer's mother. Only your cracked mind would make it something else."

"Right," Ric said. "His mother. Because that suits you so well. Because it's so close to all of your ambitions."

"You don't know me. You never did."

"I knew you better than anyone. We're the same person."

"No," Claudia said, shaking her head emphatically. "No, we're not. In fact, that's why everything fell apart."

"We fell apart because you almost had me killed twice," Ric said, his voice rising in anger. "Once when you told Sonny the secret I had entrusted you with, and once when you poisoned me."

Claudia shrugged. "You deserved both. In the second place, you were blackmailing me. And in the first place, you tried to have your brother killed. Come on, Ric, did you not understand anything about me? Being a sibling is --"

"Being a sibling is a mess. It's what almost got you killed since the day your brother was born."

Claudia shut up. There was no way Ric would ever understand how his betrayal of his own brother had turned her against him. She'd never told Nikolas, but the first thing that had started her on the path to loving him was during their first conversation, when she volunteered to kill herself to save her brother. And when Nikolas questioned her dedication, she had asked him "Wouldn't you do the same for your brother?" And that was why Nikolas had not given her up. Because he loved Lucky the same way she loved John. Feelings that Ric, apparently, was incapable of.

Ric stared at Claudia. Somewhere down deep, there was the woman he'd formed an alliance with. The woman he'd trusted. The female version of himself who drove him to distraction and whom he never stopped wanting, even when they were trying to kill each other.

"I have a proposal," Ric said. "Take it or leave it. But the stakes are high if you leave it. Helena and your father are waiting for word about your whereabouts. Deny me, and you'll be handed over."

"Deny you what?"

Ric smiled. Not as different as she'd like to think. Willing to consider the options. "We send little Spencer to Port Charles. On a plane to his father."

"Alone."

"Yes. And you and I will join forces to take your father down. Assume your rightful heritage as head of the Zaccharas. With me by your side. Equal partners."

"And my other son..."

"Whatever you want. We can take him back from Nikolas, or --" Ric cut himself off, seeing a look he didn't like in Claudia's eyes. "I'm giving you a chance to save the people you love and to get what you've always wanted, Claudia."

"Partners," she said.

He couldn't read her. "In every way. Starting tonight. You have one hour to make up your mind, Claudia. One hour to come with me to my room, or Spencer gets handed over. If you try anything, you and I both know it won't give you enough of a head start. So no betrayals. What do you say?"

Spencer pounded on the door. "Claudee!," he yelled.

Claudia didn't say anything. She slowly turned and opened the door to her suite. She went inside, shutting the door behind her.

Ric wasn't worried. Claudia was pragmatic. She'd see what was best.

********************************************

Marriott Hotel. Hotel Suite. Athens. Greece.

Spencer was in tears when Claudia came into the room. Great, choking, sobbing tears.

Claudia fell to her knees in front of him, hugging him to her.

"Oh!," she said. "What's this?"

"Don't leave me," he cried. "Don't leave me, Mommy."

Claudia pulled back, kissing his tears. She held his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. "Who said _anything_ about me leaving you?"

"The man -- the bad man."

"Well," Claudia said, gathering Spencer up into her arms again. "You got that part right. Didn't anyone ever tell you not to listen at doors?"

"No."

"Listen to me," Claudia said. "I told you I would do my best to never, ever leave you again. Do you remember that?"

Spencer nodded, sniffling.

"I meant it."

Spencer's breathing began to become normal. He hiccuped. He pulled back to look at her. "What are we going to do?"

"Well, first of all, we're going to make a deal that from now on, when I tell you to do something, you're going to do it."

"But the bad man --"

"Pirata. Nothing will work unless you do what I say. Promise me that the next time I ask you to do something, you'll do it."

Spencer wiped at his cheeks with his hands. Claudia grabbed a tissue from the coffee table and gently wiped his tears away. Then she held the tissue to his nose.

"Blow," she said.

Spencer blew.

"Thank you," she said. "Feeling better?"

He nodded.

"Good enough to make a promise?"

Spencer was silent for a long moment. He stared suspiciously at Claudia. She smiled at him.

"Come on," she coaxed him.

"I promise."

"Good. Now we have to hurry..."

********************************************

Port Charles. General Hospital. Reception Area.

Anthony leaned over the desk, trying to turn the computer screen toward him.

"Sir, I'll have to ask you to step back and let me do my job," Nurse Crowell said.

"It's under Cassadine, Corinthos or Zacchara. He's here."

"No," Nurse Crowell said, checking the last name. "No one here under any of those names."

Anthony rapped his knuckles against the desk thoughtfully. "Okay, Nursey," he said. "I'll be back when I know what's what."

*********************************************

Marriott Hotel. Athens. Greece.

The fire was called in almost as soon as it started, so there were no casualties. When Ric was finally able to return to Claudia's floor, she and Spencer were gone, leaving most of their belongings behind, but no trace of where they were headed.

********************************************

Port Charles. General Hospital. Matt's Office.

"That's it?," Morgan said.

"That's it for the testing part. Then comes the donor part."

"Which is?"

"Morgan Stone Corinthos, if you do not start taking this seriously, we are going home."

"I'm not a kid, Mom."

"Then stop behaving like one."

Yeah. This was the part they couldn't prepare you for in medical school, Matt thought as the bickering continued. But there was no way he was going to interfere. Too many dinners with Elizabeth and Robin. Too many stories about Carly Jacks.

The room had gone silent.

"My turn?," Matt asked.

"Yeah," said Morgan.

"Okay," Matt said. "So. The transplant. We're not going to take the bone marrow out of your bone. We could, but we're not going to. Instead, we're going to get it from your blood. We're going to take your blood and filter out everything but the stem cells. And we're going to give the stem cells to Jonah. Now this will probably take more than one donation..."

*************************************************

Port Charles. General Hospital. Reception Area.

Nurse Crowell gestured to Dante.

He gave a quick look around. He didn't see anyone. He went over to Nurse Crowell.

"Anthony Zacchara was just here looking for his grandson," she said.

He nodded. Time to call in the troops.

*************************************************

Athens. Airport.

She was supposed to wait one more week. She was supposed to be careful.

But she had no choice. She was going to see Spencer safely to Port Charles, get him in the hands of people who could protect him, and then she'd try to get to Jonah.

Claudia was well aware that she and the baby would probably end up casualties. She hoped Nikolas, Spencer and Jonah would forgive her.

"How're you doing with the lunches, big guy? Too heavy?"

Spencer struggled valiantly with the two paper bags. "I can carry them."

"I see that."

Claudia was carrying two gallons of water. With any luck, the airline would allow them to --

_Oh my God,_ Claudia thought, as she looked out onto the tarmac. It was waiting for them. The Cassadine Jet. A match. Jonah had a match.

"This way, pirata. We're taking our plane."

"Our plane?"

"Yes."

Spencer's head whirled around toward the window. His mouth dropped open. "We have a match!"

Claudia beamed at Spencer. "Yes."

Spencer threw the lunch bags up in the air. He did a little dance and positively glowed at Claudia.

Claudia laughed.

**********************************************

Port Charles. General Hospital. Monica's Office.

"He can't get the transplant until the cancer is killed. Until his own bone marrow has been destroyed. It's the only way his body will accept the new bone marrow."

"I know," Nikolas said, in measured tones.

"He'll be weak. Weaker than you can imagine. His hair will probably fall out from the chemotherapy. He'll be bleeding. In pain. Susceptible to infection --"

"I know!," Nikolas cried out, anguished. "Don't you think I know this? As soon as we suspected, Claudia and I started reading everything we could. We consulted every specialist in the world. We kept looking for a different answer. I've been looking since I got here. She's probably looking for one right now. But there isn't one. And we know that. We know exactly what's going to happen."

Monica got up from her chair and swiftly went to Nikolas' side. She knelt in front of his chair.

"Nikolas," she said.

He looked at her, his eyes filled with tears. "Claudia was scared it would be too much for me. Because of Emily. And Courtney. I can do this. I can do this for Jonah."

"I know."

Nikolas wiped away a tear. "I wish I could go through it for him. I swear to God, I'd give everything."

"I know."

"I'll be okay, it's just that we try not to worry in front of the kids. We don't want them growing up with fear."

"Well, it certainly looks like you've done a good job there."

"When I had my stroke," Nikolas said, "my uncle became a madman. For months afterwards, his rage and fear consumed him. He blamed everyone. No one escaped his wrath."

"I worked here. I remember."

"And I remember. I remember thinking, 'How idiotic. None of these people has an ounce of responsibility for what happened. Does he think he can control life and death? How preposterous.' How preposterous. How presumptuous of me, to think I remotely understood what he was going through. Every person I talk to, I feel like grabbing by the throat, as if that would somehow fix this. Was it like that for you?"

"No," Monica said. "I was angry that Emily was going through her illness, but she needed me too much for me to indulge in that anger."

Nikolas nodded. "Whenever I feel enraged, I imagine Jonah seeing me like that. I know this is his battle. And I know it's my job to see him through it. I just feel so helpless."

"You and Claudia did everything right."

Nikolas shook his head. "We cheated death. Both of us. And sometimes I think Jonah's paying the price."

Monica stood up. She leaned against her desk. "You can't believe that."

"Claudia loves my arrogance. She says it's like a well-placed birthmark."

Monica was taken aback. Somehow she'd imagined that Claudia had completely reinvented herself.

"We've done everything we could to give them a normal life. Spencer has playmates. Every birthday, we -- It doesn't matter. What matters is that we were arrogant enough to think we could protect them against everything, to give them everything we never had."

"Cancer doesn't discriminate."

Nikolas leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Trying to grab on to something good. He opened his eyes and looked at Monica. "Did you see what room they put him in?," he asked her.

Monica shook her head, not understanding.

"It's Lulu's room. From when she was sick."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize. We can change it --"

"No. No, thank you," he said gently. "Maybe it will bring good luck to Jonah_ and_ to Morgan. My uncle did not want me to be Lulu's donor. Just like Carly. I was a half-brother. Just like Morgan. Lulu was too small to know that she was supposed to hate anyone. Like Jonah. All I'm asking for is one more parallel."

********************************************

Smithfield Clinic. London. England.

Helena took the file and the drugs from Dr. Mencken.

"How long will these last?," she asked.

"Used prudently, three months."

_Perfect._

"Thank you, doctor."

Helena's cell phone rang.

"Pardon me," she said. She took out her phone and connected with the call. "Yes? ... When? .... I understand. ... No more excuses. You'll meet us back in Port Charles." She hung up. Ric Lansing was an incompetent fool with a law degree.

Helena smiled at the doctor. "One more moment, if you don't mind."

"Not at all."

She dialed a number. Waited. The call connected. "Anthony. I'm on my way with our ... _insurance_. If I'm not mistaken, your daughter is also on her way. Please use this information wisely. ...Anthony?" He was gone. She hung up.

********************************************

Port Charles. General Hospital. Parking Lot. Hours later.

The rental car was stuffy. Claudia had been studying the hospital for half an hour.

The hospital was surrounded. There was no way they were getting inside together. Everyone was looking for a woman accompanied by a child. To what end, she didn't know, but she knew that Spencer's survival depended upon not being identified. The important thing, Claudia thought, was to get Spencer safely inside. She'd worry about herself later. Her hand brushed over her mother's rosary, safely hidden in her pocket along with Talia's talisman.

Her father was right at the front entrance, with Lucky Spencer standing ten feet away.

The Emergency Room entrance had strangers. She couldn't tell who was a Fed and who was Mob. She couldn't risk that.

All of the other hospital entrances were locked from the inside.

She chugged some water. She was feeling a little weak, but it looked like the baby had come through the flight with flying colors. _Take that, Dr. Doukos,_ she thought.

_Okay, Claudia. Think._

Lucky. Lucky would keep Spencer safe.

She looked over at Spencer.

"Pirata."

"What?"

"Time for 'Let's Pretend.'"

********************************************

Port Charles. General Hospital. Front Entrance.

Lucky surveyed his surroundings and took a quick glance at Anthony Zacchara. Anthony Zacchara smiled at him and turned away.

Someone small tugged at Lucky's pant leg.

"Excuse me."

Lucky looked down. A little towheaded -- he did a double take. Spencer. A little towheaded Spencer.

"Mister, can you help me find my mommy?"

Lucky looked around again. He couldn't see Claudia anywhere.

"I think she's inside," Spencer said. "She said she'd be right out. Can we go look for her?"

"Sure," Lucky said reluctantly.

From his close vantage point, Anthony smirked at Lucky and the blond brat. _So long, boy scout,_ Anthony thought smugly.

Spencer led Lucky inside. To the elevator bank. They passed Carly as she got off and breezed past them.

Spencer and Lucky got on the elevator. Spencer closed the doors on some visitors who were approaching. The elevator started going up.

Spencer turned to Lucky. "Claudee says hide me," he said.

****************************************

Back at the Front Entrance, Carly stood as far away from Anthony Zacchara as possible, taking a drag off her cigarette. If he was waiting for his daughter, Carly thought, he'd be waiting a long time. What was the matter with that woman? A child at death's door and she couldn't bother to be in the same country?

Claudia sat in her car, getting up the guts to walk past her father as a complete stranger. _No big deal,_ she thought. _It's only death. _

She'd lied to Spencer. Told him she'd meet him later. That this was a temporary separation. She'd hugged him and kissed him, ruffled his hair, and sent him on his way. Watched him lead Lucky inside.

She took a deep breath, shoved a baseball cap on her head, and got out of the car.

She walked to the main entrance purposefully, but unhurried. No need to draw attention. As she got closer she pulled her hat down further over her face.

She walked past her father. Safe.

Carly's eyes widened in outrage as she recognized the strut. Unbelievable. She stamped out her cigarette.

"Hey."

The witch just kept walking. Carly looked Claudia up and down. Blonde. Tanned.

"Where have you been?," Carly said, following Claudia inside. "Sunning on a beach? Your son needs you, Claudia."

Claudia continued walking. She felt a strong hand grasp her elbow and whirl her around.

"No hello for Daddy?," Anthony said. "Why Claudia, you'd think you were hiding from me."

Carly immediately realized her mistake. "Claudia. I can take you inside if you --"

"Claudia won't be going inside," Anthony said. "She'll be taking a little time to catch up with me. Right, Claudia?"

Claudia felt the hard steel of an automatic against her back.

"Right, Daddy," she said.

Anthony led her away from the hospital.

Carly stared after them and then hurried into the hospital.


	11. Chapter 11

Port Charles. General Hospital. Jonah's Hospital Room.

"Would you like a minute alone?," Laura asked Nikolas.

"Thank you," Nikolas said.

"I'll go get some tea," Laura said.

She kissed Nikolas' cheek and then quietly left the room.

Nikolas gazed down at Jonah. This was the last time they were going to be alone for awhile. From now on, Jonah would be under strict observation. The trick, as Claudia had taught him by example, was to make it all interesting for Jonah. And to surround him with love.

Jonah pulled himself up using the railing of his bed.

"You're going to be in bed for awhile, Jonah. Would you like a tour of the room before you get stuck?"

Jonah held out his arms. Nikolas lifted him up.

Liz came in, wheeling an I.V. stand with the chemo.

"Is it time?," Nikolas asked.

"Almost. Should I come back later?"

"No." But he barely acknowledged her. Nikolas carried Jonah over to the "toy corner" and lifted up a soft stuffed toy puppy. Jonah reached out for it and took it, and began to chew on a leg.

"Does it taste like chicken, piccolo?," Nikolas said. The one way to anger Claudia in the dining room was to tell her that one of her exotic dishes tasted like chicken.

"No," Jonah said, giggling.

"Someone's very smart about their mommy."

Liz came over and brushed her hand over the back of Jonah's head. "Nikolas," she said.

He reluctantly took his attention away from Jonah.

"I'd like to talk to you. Not now, obviously," Liz added quickly. "But some time. I don't like how things are between us and I --"

Lulu came into the room.

"Anybody need an aunt?," she said, smiling at Jonah.

"Lululululululululululu," Jonah said, dropping the toy puppy and reaching out for her.

Lulu's smile widened. "Hey! You said my name."

"Give or take a few Lulu's," Nikolas said.

Liz shifted uncomfortably. Nikolas was back to avoiding her again.

Lulu looked from Liz to Nikolas. "Am I interrupting something?," she asked.

There was a knock at the door. The door opened. Dante.

"How is he?," Dante said.

"About to begin an adventure," Nikolas said, jiggling Spencer. He looked up at Dante. Something was wrong. "What's going on?"

"Anthony's disappeared. And so has Lucky."

Liz froze.

Nikolas stared at Dante. "Are you sure?"

"They're not where they were five minutes ago. One of my men just radioed."

Matt came into the room, ready to begin. He hesitated when he felt the tension bouncing off the walls.

"Something wrong?," Matt said.

"Lucky's missing," Liz answered.

Nikolas' mind was racing. What would Anthony want with Lucky? Asinine question. Anthony was partnered with Helena. Helena always knew how to use Lucky as a pawn. Bad thought. What if Lucky was trailing Anthony? It could be that simple?

"Mr. Cassadine," Matt said. "Do you want to hold off on the port?"

Nikolas glanced down at Jonah. He had dozens of little bruises all over his body. They couldn't afford to wait. Jonah couldn't start receiving the chemo until his port had been put into his chest.

"No," Nikolas said. He gazed at Jonah, glad for once that Claudia couldn't be here. It would have killed her to see their son cut open -- no matter how small the incision.

Matt wheeled the I.V. over while Liz gathered a sterile needle from a drawer, along with a cotton ball and some rubbing alcohol.

Jonah began to cry when he saw the needle. "Mama. Mama, mama, mama."

Nikolas hurried to Jonah's side. He bent down close to Jonah. "I know. I know. I'm so sorry, Jonah. How about this? I'll do it with you," Nikolas said. "When they put the needle in you, they'll put a needle in me too."

Jonah grew quiet as he puzzled that out.

The door to the room flung open all the way.

Carly stood in the doorway. "Anthony has Claudia."

"Mama."

Nikolas shot up. "What do you mean?"

"I mean -- I mean, I made a mistake. I didn't know she was hiding from him and when she started to come into the hospital, I ripped her a new one. Anthony saw her and --"

"No," Nikolas said. "You're wrong. She can't be here. She's not supposed to be here for another week."

"Mama!," Jonah cried.

"Well, okay, if you want to be right, that's your call, but I guess Anthony has another daughter named Claudia then, because right before he dragged her away from the hospital, he said they were going to" -- Carly made air quotes -- "'Catch up' and then he said 'Right, Claudia?' and whoever that woman was said, 'Right, Daddy.'"

Carly flung her arms out as if to say, "Well?"

Nikolas looked horrified. But then all of the color drained out of his face as another realization hit him. "Carly," he said, "Where is Spencer?"

********************************************

General Hospital. Elevator.

As soon as Spencer asked to be hidden, Lucky hit the button for the nearest floor. Which was, unfortunately, pediatrics. A lot of people who knew Spencer were lurking around every corner. But on the other hand, a lot easier for a kid to hide on this floor.

The elevator door opened.

Lucky gestured for Spencer to stay inside while Lucky checked the hallway. All clear.

Lucky gestured to Spencer. Spencer followed Lucky.

They turned a corner and almost ran smack into Laura.

"Grandma!," Spencer shouted.

Lucky covered Spencer's mouth with his hand. "Ssh!," Lucky whispered in Spencer's ear. Then he removed his hand.

"Oops," whispered Spencer.

"Lucky," Laura said, "what's --"

"Come with me," Lucky said. Lucky knew this hospital like the back of his hand. Because of Elizabeth. Unfortunately, Liz was with Nik and Jonah. So Lucky was going to have to improvise.

He led Laura and Spencer into a supply closet.

Laura knelt down and hugged Spencer. "Oh, Spencer, it's so good to see you. But where's your mommy?"

"Mommy says hide me."

Laura looked at Lucky.

"That's all I've heard too," Lucky said.

"Well, your mommy's pretty smart," Laura said. "So let's do exactly what she wants us to do."

Lucky pulled Laura aside. "There's no way either one of us are going to be able to take him out of here," Lucky said. "It would be too easy for anyone to figure out who he is if he's with one of us."

Laura looked around the closet. She pulled a small pair of child's crutches from a shelf and handed them to Spencer.

"What do you think, Spence? Do you think you can play Let's Pretend with them?"

"I'm not a baby," Spencer said.

"I know," Laura said.

"Me and Mommy have been pretending a LOT lately. This is nothing."

"Okay," Laura said, stifling a smile. She turned to Lucky. "I'll be right back." She left the closet, closing the door behind her.

It was quiet for awhile.

"You're my Uncle Lucky," Spencer said.

"I am."

"You don't look like Daddy at all."

"Or maybe your Daddy doesn't look like me."

Spencer rolled his eyes. Lucky was taken aback by how much he looked like Nikolas when he did that.

Laura came back into the closet, pulling Nadine in with her. She shut the door.

"Okay," Laura said. "Spencer, Nadine is going to take you outside, while you pretend to use the crutches. She'll bring you out waaaay out into the parking lot, to my car. And then your uncle and I will hide you."

"Are you good at this?," Spencer asked Laura.

"I used to be," Laura said.

"Because I've been doing this a long time," Spencer said. "With Claudee."

"Well, I've never done it with Claudia, but Lucky and I are old pros. From back when he was your age."

Spencer looked at Lucky skeptically.

"It's true," Lucky said.

"Okay," Spencer said. He turned to Nadine. "Do you want me to pretend to be a good kid, or a bad kid?"

*******************************************

Zacchara Limousine.

The limo circled around the hospital, again and again.

Claudia was smart enough to be terrified, Anthony noted appreciatively. He checked his watch. The old bat was supposed to have arrived by now. And he still hadn't heard anything.

So what? He was going to do this his way from now on. Helena, Anthony mused, was used to dealing with her grandson. A wussy little prince who cried when he lost people. Any people. Claudia was different. You had to push the right button.

Dingbat HellsBells was counting on Claudia having a friend. Anthony laughed out loud.

Claudia flinched.

No, Anthony thought, his daughter didn't make friends. She _used_ people. She was not gonna care about this Talia broad. But the little boy -- he was her meal ticket: Spencer. What kind of name was that? It was like "Whittleby." Or "Longsbirthington." Or some other fatcat last name that some white-gloved bitch had decided would make the perfect first name for a spoiled brat.

The little boy wasn't with Claudia like he and Helena had thought. As far as Anthony was concerned, that meant Claudia didn't know where the little boy was. And that could work out good for him.

The most important thing for Anthony was to get to the _other_ little boy. Anthony's grandson. And he knew from all of his previous attempts to get inside that hospital that he was gonna need Claudia to take him in there. And he was through with waiting for Helena.

Anthony banged on the back of the driver's seat.

"Yes, Mr. Zacchara?"

Anthony turned to Claudia, "You see that? Respect." He turned to the driver. "Raise the partition."

The partition between the front and the back of the limo went up.

"Got some of my men back," Anthony said to Claudia. "The rest are from Cavallo. One of the Five Families. You may remember him. You almost decapitated him with the heel of one of your stilettos. He perked up when I told him what I needed him for."

Claudia was silent.

"Married a prince, huh?," Anthony asked Claudia. Then he laughed dismissively. "You think you were going to be carried away on a white horse?"

Claudia still didn't speak.

"That was a question, Claudia. We answer questions in this family."

"No," she said.

"No what?"

"No, I didn't think I was going to be carried away on a white horse."

"Yeah? What did you think?"

"I thought I was going to have a life," she cried out.

Ah, he thought. There's my shrill shrew of a daughter.

"You know, like women are supposed to have. Family. A career."

"A _career_?," Anthony sneered. "You reading those ladies magazines? Swear to God, you're just like your mother ... was."

Something about the way Anthony said his last word made the hair on the back of Claudia's neck rise.

"I saw your mother, you know. A few days ago. And do you want to know what happened?" Anthony slapped his forehead, as if something had just occurred to him. "I keep forgettin' that these days you don't have to tell anybody what happened." Anthony took out his cell phone. "These days, you just show pictures."

Claudia started to shake.

"What's the matter, Claudia? Don't you want to see your mother?"

"Oh God. What did you do? What did you do?"

"You know, I didn't like your mother. She was a conniving witch, just like you are. But that doesn't mean she deserved what happened to her. No, you made me do this."

"No!," Claudia said, shaking her head violently.

"You're out of control. Very disobedient." Anthony began to flip through the images taken by his camera phone. "You put me in prison. You kept me from my grandson. You had to be taught a lesson. But I couldn't find you. And Domenica was right there. Whose fault was that?"

"Please. No, no, no, no." Claudia began to cry.

"Ah. Here we are. Domenica Zacchara. Don't turn your head away, Claudia," he said, forcing her face toward the phone with his hand. "Look what you did to your mother."

Anthony held the image on the phone up within Claudia's line of vision, forcing her to look at it.

Claudia fainted.

*****************************************************

General Hospital. Jonah's Hospital Room.

"I didn't see Spencer," Carly said.

Nikolas tried to fit together everything he knew. Lucky was missing. Spencer was missing. And Anthony had Claudia.

"Mama, mama, mama," Jonah cried. Matt took Jonah from his bed and brought him across the room, to the rug with the toys scattered across it.

"Chances are Claudia hid Spencer before she got here," Dante said.

"Do you want me to go look for him?," Lulu said.

Nikolas heard neither Dante nor Lulu. Another missing piece of the puzzle had just occurred to him.

"Carly," Nikolas said. "Did you notice anything different or unusual about Claudia?"

Carly looked at him like he had a third eye. "She was _blonde._ Does that change anything?," she asked sarcastically.

"Anything else?"

"What are you looking for Nikolas?," Liz asked.

"Carly," Nikolas said again, exasperated, "did you notice anything different?"

"Like what?"

Lulu and Nikolas looked at each other. If Carly hadn't noticed that Claudia was pregnant, maybe Anthony hadn't either. But Lulu couldn't see why it was so important to Nikolas right now.

"What difference would it make, Nikolas?," Lulu asked.

"If Anthony knows, then Claudia is all he needs. But if doesn't know, he'll want to get to Jonah. And Claudia is the only way he's getting in here."

Matt and Liz exchanged a confused look.

"Knows what?," Carly asked.

"I can set up a few men to take Anthony in as soon as he arrives," Dante said.

"No," Nikolas said, slowly. He turned to Carly. "You need to leave. Go back to Morgan. Don't mention this to anyone. And come up with a good reason why you didn't tell me that Anthony has Claudia. Can you do that?"

"No."

Nikolas had grown too used to Claudia, who was an expert in lying her head off without needing a reason to. "Why not?," he said to Carly, in his most haughty tone.

"Because," Carly snapped, "Anthony Zacchara is a homicidal maniac. There's no way I wouldn't tell someone." _Take that, idiot,_ she thought.

"Anthony Zacchara is going to be here in a few minutes," Nikolas said. "He's going to use Claudia to get into this room. And we have no idea what kind of leverage he has. For all we know, Lucky and Spencer are being held hostage. In order for us to have any kind of upper hand, Anthony cannot know that you tipped us off. So you are going to get out of here. You are going to make up something. And you will hopefully never have to tell anyone your story."

"You," said Carly, "are as insane as your father-in-law. You're going to end up with a dead wife -- which -- believe me -- is no great loss -- and a kidnapped son."

"Then it will be on my head," Nikolas said. "Get out now, before Anthony arrives."

Carly shot one last look at Nikolas, and then left the room.

"I can't leave you here alone to face Anthony Zacchara," Dante said to Nikolas.

"You think he won't know you're a federal agent?," Nikolas asked.

"It doesn't matter. He --"

Nikolas leaned in toward Dante and whispered in his ear. "If Anthony Zacchara comes into this room and finds a federal agent, he will kill Claudia and me, and take Jonah. You haven't seen what this man can do. So unless you have an army downstairs and a clear-cut cause to arrest the man, you need to leave."

Dante stared at Nikolas. "If we lose Zacchara," Dante said to Nikolas, "it will be on your head."

"I know that," Nikolas said. "I have more to lose than anyone."

Dante left the room. Nikolas took Jonah from Matt and brought him back to his bed.

"So," Matt said. "'Homicidal maniac.' That would be a euphemism for...?"

No one answered.

"I'm going to go with 'overly attentive,' if no one minds," Matt said. "Just to ease my own mind."

*****************************************************

Zacchara Limousine.

Anthony slapped Claudia's face. Her eyes opened.

"What are you -- suffering from the vapors?," he asked her. "We don't have time for this."

Claudia shook her head, trying to clear it. Oh, God. Her mother. She began to cry.

"Don't cry, Claudia. Keep crying, and I'll show you more pictures. Of someone else. What was her name? I hate foreign names. So hard to remember."

"What are you talking about?," Claudia said, her volume rising in direct proportion to her confusion.

Anthony snapped his fingers. "Talia. Talia Petrides. Did I pronounce that right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Claudia lied.

"Ha!," Anthony said. "That's what I thought. But the old lady -- Helena -- she thought your husband's email to you, she thought since it went to this Petrides lady, it had significance. That's how Helena talks -- she uses words like 'significance.' Pretentious old broad. By the way, your husband seems like a sap."

Claudia was silent.

"Anyway, we paid her a visit too. Talia Petrides. Do you want to see the pictures?"

Claudia was silent for another moment. Then she said, "No," as coldly as she could.

"Suit yourself," Anthony said, putting his cell phone away. "Let's get down to brass tacks. You have something I want, and I have something you want. So. What do you think the prince's kid is worth? Your little stepson. Spencer_."_

_No, _she thought, _I saw him go in. Daddy didn't have time to take him. He's safe. Spencer's safe._

_"_Stupid idea, you separating from him," Anthony said. "But you never were good at planning. Anyway, how would you feel about taking me in to see my grandkid? In exchange for me keeping the Cassadine brat alive for another day?"

"You have Spencer."

"I do."

"Prove it."

Anthony gave a sigh. He pulled out his cell phone again, as if it pained him. He dialed a number. He looked up at Claudia as the phone rang on the other end. "What's a part of the kid's anatomy that you would recognize? If I had it brought here?"

Claudia snatched the phone from Anthony's hand and disconnected the call. "You're a sick, twisted monster," she said, as Anthony took the phone back from her. "So help me God, if I get out of this, you will never stop paying."

"Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. That's all I hear when you talk. Do we have a deal?"

Claudia just stared at him. No way out. She was going to have to figure out how to get all of this information to Nikolas once she got inside.

"Yes, Daddy."

Anthony shut off his cell phone. He didn't need a partner anymore. He probably never needed one at all.

He knocked on the partition. The driver lowered it.

"Take us back to the main entrance of the hospital," Anthony said.

***********************************************************

The Haunted Star.

The ship was dark when Laura and Spencer arrived. A big notice was posted on the door. "CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE."

Luke was in trouble with the law again, Lucky said.

Laura turned the knob to the main entrance. Unlocked. She hoped to God Luke wasn't around. She didn't have the energy for dealing with him on top of all of this.

She and Spencer went inside.

She led Spencer around the gambling tables. Past the bar. Into the back room.

Luke's office. An unholy mess that smelled of cigars.

Spencer wrinkled his nose.

"I know," Laura said. "Believe me. I know."

The room looked like it hadn't been used in days.

Laura checked the closet, and pulled out some bedding. She opened up the sofa bed.

"Wow," Spencer said, impressed.

"I guess this _would_ be new for you," Laura mused. The rich didn't need sofabeds. They just allocated as many rooms as they needed for guest rooms.

Before Laura could make up the bed, Spencer pulled himself up onto it. He jumped on the mattress, testing the springs. "Holy hole in a donut, Batman! Pow! Zap! Splatt!" He turned to Laura while bouncing. "I was Robin on our last adventure," he explained, beginning to get a little out of breath.

Laura laughed.

"Anybody want to tell me what's going on?," Luke said, stepping out of the shadows. Spencer fell down on the bed.

***********************************************************

General Hospital. Reception Area.

Epiphany Johnson raised her eyebrows as Anthony Zacchara and a bleached blonde Claudia Zacchara parked themselves in front of her desk.

"How can I help you?"

Claudia was silent. Anthony nudged her. "Maybe a finger?," Anthony whispered in her ear.

"We're here to see my son," Claudia said. "Nikolai Stavrosovich."

Nurse Johnson nodded at Claudia, and then looked suspiciously at Anthony. Claudia's hand covered Epiphany's.

"Please," Claudia said.

"Room 454," Nurse Johnson said. "Elevators are to your right."

*************************************************************

Crimson Pointe. Front door.

"Put her downstairs," Helena said to Anthony's henchmen. "In one of the outer rooms."

Helena followed them into the house. And watched the henchmen disappear with the guest.

She surveyed her surroundings. Anthony had dreadful taste in decor. Almost as dour as her youngest son's. This place was as dark as Wyndemere.

Anthony was not picking up his phone. She hoped he wasn't careening into disaster. The man had no impulse control.

She checked her watch. Still early. And so close to Port Charles. Maybe a visit to her nemesis was in order. At the very least, it would be amusing. At most, it might shed some light on the whereabouts of The Cassadine Heir.

Helena went back outside and summoned her driver. She got in the car.

As the car drove off, Sam watched from a distance.

************************************************************

General Hospital. Jonah's Hospital Room.

Only the medical professionals and Lulu and Nikolas remained.

Matt checked his watch. "Mr. Cassadine, but if we're going to do this today, it might be better to do it before Anthony Zacchara arrives. Since he --"

"All right," said Nikolas.

Nikolas sat down next to Jonah's bed. Jonah lifted himself to a sitting position.

"Piccolo, you're going to have to lie back down," Nikolas brushed his hand over the bed. "Come on, piccolo. Back into bed."

"Mama."

"I know. But I promise, I'll be here with you every step of the way. Okay?"

The door to the room opened. Claudia entered, followed by Anthony.

"Mama! Ciao, ciao!"

Claudia hurried to Jonah's side. "Ciao, piccolo. Mi sei mancato terribilmente." _I missed you terribly. _She bent down and kissed the top of his head. She glanced down at his body. All those little bruises.

Nikolas looked Claudia over. She looked off, but was covering well. And as far as Nikolas could tell, Anthony hadn't touched her.

Claudia picked Jonah up, and turned to Nikolas. "You found a match?"

Nikolas nodded. "Morgan Corinthos."

"Well, where's the Corinthos kid?," Anthony said. "Let's get started."

Claudia decided to nip all conversation in the bud. She kissed the top of Jonah's head again, and placed him back into the bed. "Just one second, Jonah. Okay?"

Jonah smiled.

_Jonah?,_ Anthony thought. _We'll have to change that._

Claudia turned to Nikolas and said, slowly, "My father is going to be here. Visiting his grandson. _You got a problem with that?_"

Nikolas recognized the key words and his blood ran cold, wondering exactly how Claudia was being coerced. He answered slowly, "Not if it's what you want."

Claudia pulled him close to her, hugging him. But while one arm -- the arm closest to Anthony -- went around Nikolas, her other hand slipped unnoticed into Nikolas' jacket pocket and dropped something inside.

She pulled back and looked straight into Nikolas' eyes, her own eyes full of apology.

Then she turned to Matt. "Tell me," she said.

"Don't I get to meet my grandson?," Anthony said.

The room was silent for a heartbeat too long. And then Claudia lifted Jonah from his bed, and brought him to Anthony.

Anthony looked Jonah over, evaluating him.

Nikolas' fists turned white as he clenched them.

"Claudia," Matt said. "We need to get started now."

Claudia turned back to Nikolas. "Chemo?"

Nikolas nodded, joining her and putting a protective arm around her. "Eight days and then the transplant. They'll be putting in the port now." Claudia swallowed hard. Jonah reached up to Claudia's lips and touched them. She smiled at him and kissed his fingers. He laughed. Nikolas continued, "Tonight he'll just be out like a light, because of the general anesthesia. And then --"

"I know," Claudia said. _And then he'll go through hell, _she thought, completing Nikolas' sentence."Okay, little man, let's have a talk before we go through this. How does that sound?"

"Uh-oh."

"Exactly. Uh-oh!" Claudia took Jonah over to the rocking chair and sat down in it, putting him in her lap. Nikolas knelt in front of them, rubbing Jonah's back. "Did you take care of Daddy while I was away?"

"Yes."

"You did? That's my good boy. Has anybody told you what's going to happen?"

"Mama, mama, mama," Jonah said, suddenly hugging Claudia tightly. She gently stroked the back of his head.

Nikolas marveled at how easily Claudia had buried everything but her motherly instincts. It was as if Nikolas, Jonah and Claudia were the only people in the room.

Anthony did not like how his grandson was turning out to be a mama's boy.

"Jonah," Claudia murmured into Jonah's ear. "It's going to be bad for awhile. And I'm so sorry. But I'm here now. I'm not going to go away again. Remember, you don't have to be good. You don't have to be brave. You do whatever you have to do and whatever you want to do. Okay?"

"Yes."

Jonah pulled back, reached out and touched Claudia's blonde hair in wonderment.

"I know. I look funny," Claudia whispered to Jonah.

Jonah nodded.

But he had recognized her anyway, Claudia thought. She looked at Nikolas. In order for the children to be safe, Nikolas had to survive. It wasn't really necessary for them both to be there. But one of them had to come through this alive. Then she thought of her own mother. And made a silent promise to her family that she would make sure they made it through this. And that she wouldn't leave them without a fight.

Nikolas watched Claudia with Jonah, growing more and more worried. Claudia was planning something. Something they hadn't had time to talk about. Something she was going to do alone.

Claudia kissed Jonah and then nodded to Nikolas. They both stood, and brought Jonah over to the bed. Before Claudia put Jonah down, she lifted him way above her head. Jonah laughed delightedly.

But Claudia's shirt rode up. And Anthony saw. He saw the baby bump. He was immediately at Claudia's side. "Come on," he said.

"What?," Claudia asked.

"We have to have a talk."

"Now?"

"Right now."

He looked serious. And angry. Claudia quickly handed Jonah to Nikolas. "It's okay," she said to Nikolas. "I'll be right back."

Anthony grabbed her by the upper arm and pulled her from the room.

Jonah began to cry.

"What's going on?," Liz said.

"He's threatening her with something," Nikolas answered.

"What?"

Nikolas reached into his pocket to see what Claudia had put into it. Her mother's rosary and the talisman she'd received from Talia. His heart dropped to the floor.

Lulu hurried over and took Jonah, rocking him gently. "Anthony knows," Lulu said to Nikolas. "He just saw."

Nikolas nodded distractedly. He took out his cell phone and dialed.

"Ciao," he said, when the call connected. "Questo è Nikolas Cassadine. Sto cercando informazioni su mia madre-in-law, Domenica Zacchara. ... Sì." Nikolas was silent. "Domenica Zacchara," he said again. He went pale. "Grazie." he said quietly, and then hung up.

Then, with a heavy heart, he raised the phone again.

**************************************

Anthony dragged Claudia down the hall into the empty room next door. As soon as the door shut, he shoved her against the wall and grabbed her by the throat, choking her.

"Treacherous as ever, you evil bitch. What's _this_?," he said, his free hand pulling up her shirt and touching her belly. "You think I'd want the sick kid when I can have this?"

Claudia kneed Anthony in the groin, shoving him away from her. He fell to the ground.

She knelt next to him, gasping for breath. "First of all, old man, strangling the expectant mother generally isn't good for the kid. Second, we don't know if it's a boy or girl. And third, if you don't want to be battling Grandma Helena for this child, you'll keep your mouth shut."

Claudia swiftly left the room and went back into Jonah's room.

Nikolas had just begun to make his second phone call, but hung up and started for the door when he saw the red marks Anthony had made around Claudia's neck.

Claudia pushed him back into the room.

"Don't do a thing," she said, under her breath. "Don't say a word. He has Spencer."

Anthony staggered into the room.

"Can we get started?," Claudia said to Matt calmly, as if they all hadn't just been plunged into hell.


	12. Chapter 12

General Hospital. Observation Room Overlooking Pediatric Operating Room.

The anesthesia had taken effect quickly. Jonah had been wheeled down the hall into the operating room.

Now Nikolas and Claudia sat at the window, watching and holding hands.

Claudia had cried when Matt had first cut into Jonah, which had earned her a "So dramatic..." from Anthony. She'd had to pull Nikolas back into his seat.

This was all her fault. She'd brought her father into the hospital, into Jonah's life. She'd put Spencer in Helena's path. And the baby -- she'd flown out here when she'd been told not to.

At this point, she was more worried about Spencer than Jonah. Jonah was in good hands. Matt would see him through the port installation. But Spencer... Spencer was too brave. She remembered the way he'd rushed at Ric for insulting her. Spencer, the little boy who'd given Mother's Day back to Claudia -- a day she'd spat on since she was eight years old.

_Please,_ she thought, _ please don't let him be brave, please don't let him get hurt._ She rubbed her temple, trying to ease her headache.

Nikolas turned to Lulu. "Lulu, would you mind getting us some water?"

Lulu got up and left the room.

Nikolas put his arm around Claudia and drew her closer to him. "Are you all right?," he asked.

Claudia looked ahead, her mind sliding the different elements of a plan, of what she was going to have to do to fix this, into place. "I will be," she said.

Lulu came back in with two bottles of water. Nikolas opened one and handed it to Claudia.

She took it and drank, not understanding how he could even look at her after she'd destroyed every single one of their children. Jonah looked so still. Unnatural. He was going to wake up tomorrow, and not understand why that thing was in his chest.

Nikolas' mind was racing. They needed to start looking for Spencer _now._ Every minute that Spencer was missing was a minute that Helena could be putting him on a plane to Russia.

He also didn't like the look in Claudia's eyes. She was still plotting something. Something dangerous. Nikolas cursed himself. Even after all of Claudia's warnings about having another child, he'd kept urging. He had been too greedy. And now they were all paying. Over the past week, every time Jonah had drifted off to sleep, Nikolas had re-done the past week in his head as if Claudia hadn't been pregnant. She and Spencer would have been with Jonah and Nikolas the whole time. Protected.

From inside the operating room, Matt looked up at Claudia and Nikolas. He nodded.

"Claudia," Anthony said. "It's time for us to go home."

"Not yet," Claudia said.

"Claudia," Anthony said. "Don't argue with your father."

"I'm not leaving until we talk to Dr. Hunter," she said, with an edge in her voice.

"You're not leaving at all," Nikolas said, stepping right into full-blown Overbearing Mode.

Claudia looked Nikolas in the eye and said, "Yes, I am. I need to catch up with my father."

If Anthony had not been there, Nikolas would have exploded in fury. Now he knew exactly what Claudia was up to. She was going to try to find and save Spencer on her own.

Nikolas was mad at her, Claudia thought. But he'd understand later. When Spencer was safe.

Matt and Liz came out of the operating room. Nikolas and Claudia stood up.

"It went well," Matt said quietly. "No complications. He's going to have discomfort for a few days, but we should be able to start the chemo tomorrow."

"How long until the anesthetic wears off?," Claudia asked.

Nikolas and Matt exchanged a look.

"What?," Claudia asked.

"He's very weak, Claudia," Matt said. "He'll be out until tomorrow morning."

Claudia was silent for a moment. "Can I see him?"

"Of course."

Claudia went into the operating room, followed by Nikolas and Anthony. Lulu hovered by the doorway.

Claudia bent over the operating table, kissing Jonah's forehead. "Σε αγαπώ, piccolo," she whispered. _I love you. _She stood up and brushed his hair away from his face with her hand. She looked across the table to Nikolas, who was holding one of Jonah's tiny hands in his. Their eyes met.

"You'll stay?," she asked.

Nikolas turned his eyes from hers.

"Nikolas, please."

Nikolas slowly turned to face Anthony. "I know how little family means to you," he said. Claudia and Lulu each held their breath, terrified that Nikolas was about to step on a landmine. "But Claudia is _my_ family now," Nikolas said. "And that is entirely a different matter."

Anthony raised an eyebrow.

"Have a pleasant visit," Nikolas said. "Or deal with the consequences."

Anthony grabbed Claudia's elbow and pulled her from the room.

*********************************

Haunted Star. Back Room.

"Your hair looks funny," Spencer said to Luke, slipping to the edge of the bed.

"What about you, Blondie?," Luke asked Spencer, coming forward to ruffle the kid's hair. "I don't think you have room to talk, Junior."

_Damn him,_ Laura thought. _He's going to make me fall in love with him again._

Spencer rubbed his head. "Oh, yeah."

"Luke," Laura said. "Helena's here. She wants Spencer. I don't know exactly what's going on, but Spencer said that Claudia --"

"Claudee says hide me," Spencer interjected.

Luke smiled. "Then that's exactly what we'll do. When did Helena get in town?"

"I'm not sure," Laura said. "I think..."

Luke put his finger to his lips, hearing something. Laura covered Spencer's mouth. Luke slipped out into the bar...

...where Helena had slithered in, heading toward the back room.

"Looking for something?," Luke asked.

"Luke. What a surprise. I was under the impression, from the festive ordinance on the door, that your business had been shut down." Helena said. "Trouble at home?"

"Helena," Luke responded, "are you breaking and entering? I only ask because if you thought I wasn't here, then your visit..." He tilted his head, waiting for her answer.

"Tell me, Luke. Have you seen a little boy about so high? Answers to your surname and --" Helena cut herself off as she saw a flash of blonde at the door to the back room. "Why, Luke! Are you attempting to conceal something from me?"

"Maybe," he said.

"Mind if I take a look?"

"How could I mind?," Luke answered, hoping Laura wasn't too rusty at subterfuge. "Beautiful lady like you trying to get into my private...quarters? It's so airtight back there that no one will hear your screams."

Helena couldn't tell what he knew and what he didn't know. But something was off. Someone was --

Laura slipped out of the back room, dressed only in one of Luke's shirts. She recoiled when she saw Helena. She looked at Luke accusingly. "You got out of bed for _this_?"

"Never could resist the opportunity to get Helsinki alone, darlin'," Luke said.

"How utterly charming," Helena said. "The stars have uncrossed again. Perhaps it will last until Christmas."

"You need to leave now," Laura said.

Luke put his arm around Laura. "You heard the little woman."

Helena looked Luke and Laura up and down. She glanced toward the door to the back room.

"Give my grandson a message," she said.

"We'll see," Luke said.

"The longer he delays, the higher the stakes," she said.

Luke's hand shot out, restraining Laura.

Helena chuckled at Laura. "Always so hopelessly out of your league," she said.

Helena turned on her heel and left.

Spencer ran out of the back room. Luke caught him and covered his mouth, silencing him.

Laura went to the front door and checked. "I think we're okay."

Luke bent down and spoke into Spencer's ear. "Keep it quiet, piker. Hell on Heels has a habit of sneaking up when you least expect it." He uncovered Spencer's mouth.

"That's _it?_," Spencer said. "She's so little."

Luke and Laura exchanged a look.

"Well," Laura said, "You're kinda little too. And I seem to remember you flooding your mother's kitchen last year."

*********************************

Crimson Pointe.

When they reached the house, Anthony had been pulled aside by a guard. The guard had whispered something into Anthony's ear, and Anthony had turned to glare at Claudia.

_Do whatever you want, old man, _ Claudia thought. _Just let me in your house so I can find Spencer._

Anthony grabbed Claudia by the hair and yanked her into the house. He slammed the door shut.

"The prince called your mother's clinic. Right about when we had gone to talk about your new kid."

"You call that talking?"

Anthony pushed Claudia against the wall. "From now on," he said, "whenever you're not in my sight, I'm going to know exactly where you are. Understand?"

Claudia swallowed hard. "You bet," she said.

"What else did you let your husband know?"

"It's hard to tell," Claudia said. "We've been married a long time. We can probably read each other's minds by this point."

Anthony punched the wall next to Claudia's head.

Claudia was pretty sure he wouldn't hurt her. Not with the baby inside her. So she was going to do her best to throw him off balance.

*********************************

Haunted Star.

Luke and Laura finished tucking Spencer into bed.

"Story time," Spencer said, yawning.

"You sure you can stay up for it?," Luke asked.

Spencer nodded.

"How about The Frog Prince?," Laura suggested.

Luke nudged Laura. "You gettin' sentimental?"

"Tell me the story of how Daddy and Mommy first met."

Luke and Laura exchanged another look. Laura blushed. She was falling back into this too easily. In three months, he'd be cheating on her and leaving town. She was _not _getting mixed up with Luke again.

"I don't know that story, Spencer," she said, forcing herself to look away from Luke and over to Spencer.

"Once upon a time, there was an unhappy prince," Spencer began helpfully.

"Let me take a wild guess," Luke said.

"Luke," Laura warned.

"He was grumpy and he lived in a house decorated by Dracula," Spencer continued. Then, in a pitch perfect imitation of Nikolas, he added, "Your mother made that part up."

Luke chuckled.

"And one day, a beautiful lady washed up from the sea."

Luke and Laura exchanged another look, this time serious.

"The man didn't know what to do, so he took her home. And she was very sick for a long time. So the prince took care of her, but he wasn't very nice about it." Spencer yawned again, and peered up at the adults. "You sure you don't know this?"

Laura shook her head.

"It's good. Better than The Frog Prince. Because it's real."

Spencer turned on to his side and closed his eyes.

"We'll save the rest for tomorrow," Laura said, bending over and kissing his forehead. "'Night, Spencer."

"'Night, Gramma. 'Night, Grandpa Luke."

"Good night." Luke reached over and turned out the light.

He and Laura went into the bar.

"Thanks, Luke," Laura said.

"He's my grandson, too."

Laura's eyes filled with tears. She turned away, covering. "You don't have to stay," she said.

"Laura."

"What?"

"This is where I live now."

"Oh."

Things had been going well. Luke didn't want to press his luck.

"How about this?," Luke said. "I'll take the first shift. Give or take a day or two. You can go back to where you're staying. Throw Helena off the scent."

Laura looked at Luke gratefully. "I'm sorry to get you mixed up in all of this. It's Helena _and _Anthony Zacchara. It's not going to be easy."

"Well, easy is never much fun, is it, angel?," Luke asked. "I tell you, though, your oldest really has a knack for waving a red flag."

*********************************

General Hospital. Matt's Office.

Nikolas paced the room, talking into his cell phone. It didn't matter whether any of the calls were traced anymore. They'd gone beyond that. "We're going to need everyone back here. ... As soon as you can. ... Rudy," Nikolas said, lowering his voice and turning away from Liz and Matt, "Please don't do anything. You're the only family she has left."

Dante entered the room.

"I'll call as soon as we know anything," Nikolas said. "Ciao." Nikolas hung up and faced Dante. "What did you find out?," he asked.

"The two cases are completely different," Dante said. "Different M.O.s. Had to be done by different people."

"Different people working together," Nikolas said.

"Maybe," Dante conceded.

"He was out of the country," Nikolas said. "Can't you get him on that? He's not supposed to leave the state without permission."

"We need proof."

Nikolas swept his arm across Matt's desk clearing it violently. "He has my wife. He has my child. Do you understand?"

Matt stepped back from his desk as surreptitously as he could. He didn't know Mr. Cassadine all that well, but better safe than sorry. He glanced over at Liz. She didn't seem disturbed by Nikolas' behavior. She was looking at him sympathetically.

"The Petrides woman disappeared," Dante said. "Without a trace. Interpol is going to do a sweep, but we don't know what that will yield. But the Domenica Zacchara incident was sloppy. There was a camera in the room. As soon as we get those images transmitted to the States, we can move. Provided Anthony Zacchara was caught on camera."

"Nikolas," Liz said gently, "Who is Domenica Zacchara?"

Nikolas looked up at her. "Claudia's mother," he said.

Sam rushed into the room. "Sorry," she said. "Sorry. They told me you were here. There is some weird stuff going on at Crimson Pointe."

"You've been to Crimson Pointe?," Dante said, perturbed.

"Um, yeah, my cousin's son is in danger, I'm going to break a few rules, Dante," Sam said dismissively. She turned to face Nikolas. "First Anthony Zacchara comes home. Fixes all the windows. Strange stuff getting delivered. Like half for a nursery for a child and half for a health clinic. _Then_ Helena stops by. But get this -- she has some chick in a wheelchair with her. This woman, she's got dead eyes, body slack -- I'm no doctor, but hey, even I can take a good guess at catatonia, you know?"

Nikolas took Sam by the arm. "This woman -- what did she look like?"

"Oh. Uh, curly hair, medium length, brown. She was thin. Had like a peasant skirt on or something."

Nikolas let go of Sam and looked pointedly at Dante. "Talia. Petrides."

"And then," Sam continued. "Helena leaves. And a little while later, Anthony shows up with some blonde bimbo, really young for him, built like a brick -- sorry, you get the idea. A guard says something to Anthony. And Anthony _grabs_ this chick by the hair and drags her into the house."

Nikolas got up in Dante's face, anguished. "Do you need more? He's hurting her! Please!"

"Mr. Cassadine, I swear, as soon as we can get those images, we can get a court order to get into that house. Not before."

Lucky slipped into the room.

"So Claudia and Spencer are just supposed to wait?," Nikolas asked, as if Dante were insane.

"What about Spencer?," Lucky asked.

"Anthony Zacchara has Spencer," Liz explained.

"Mom has Spencer," Lucky said. "At the Haunted Star. I just left them there."

*********************************

Claudia's Bedroom.

Claudia was disloyal. She was conniving. She was trashy. Slutty. And any of those things alone were enough to provoke Anthony's hatred. But deep down, Anthony hated Claudia for one reason only: because she was exactly like him.

Given the chance, she would destroy anyone or anything to get her way. The only trouble was, Anthony hadn't been around Claudia enough lately. He didn't know what "her way" was. She probably was planning to have this latest kid and then off the husband. Take over the empire. Luckily, his daughter didn't take after him in the competence department. All of her schemes crashed and burned. But she usually scorched a few bystanders along the way. Anthony was going to make sure she didn't have the opportunity to muck anything else up. And keep the baby inside her healthy. Just another month or so until the amnio, and then he'd know what he was dealing with. What actions he had to take.

Claudia's left hand -- the one she didn't use as much -- was handcuffed to her headboard. Her free hand -- her right hand -- was using a fork to pick through the salad that Anthony had brought her.

"What's the matter, Claudia? You don't like the dressing?"

"I prefer a simple oil and vinegar, truth be told," she said coolly.

Anthony snorted. "Well, maybe tomorrow, your highness."

Claudia popped a cherry tomato into her mouth and ate it slowly. She eyed her father. She swallowed. "That bother you?," she said. "My whole royalty thing?"

"Well, it doesn't seem to have helped you a whole hell of a lot."

"You figured out how you're going to handle Helena once she finds out about Junior?"

"You know, you'd think you'd keep your mouth shut in your position. But you never were that smart. Just like your mother."

"You shut up about my mother."

"Hit a sore spot, huh?"

Claudia took a deep, shuddering breath.

Anthony studied her. Nodded. "Let me throw you a bone," he said. "Right before I shot her, do you want to know what happened?"

*********************************

Haunted Star.

Nikolas hurried into the bar.

"Hello," he called out.

"Nikky," Luke said, coming out of the back room. "I think I have something of yours." He gestured to the back room.

Nikolas hurried into the back room. There was a small figure asleep under the covers.

"Spence?," he said.

Spencer shot up instantly, looking at his father.

"Daddy!," he shouted, jumping out of bed and running to Nikolas.

Nikolas lifted him up and hugged him.

"Are you okay?," Nikolas asked.

"Mommy let me eat double dessert the whole time," Spencer said. He pulled back from Nikolas and looked around. "Where's Mommy?"

"She..." Nikolas' voice trailed off. He was suddenly not finding the No Lying Rule very comforting. "She's okay. But she's with her Daddy."

"She's _okay?_," Spencer asked as if Nikolas had lost his mind. "Her daddy is a bad, bad man."

"I know," Nikolas said. "But she's very good at taking care of herself. And I'm going to get her back. Do you believe me?"

Spencer stared at Nikolas. Then he must have seen something he believed in, because he nodded.

"Good," Nikolas said. "Spencer, I need your help."

"Okay," Spencer said.

Luke entered the room and listened from the door.

Nikolas carried Spencer over to the bed and sat him down on it. Then Nikolas sat next to Spencer. "Amico, your mother and you weren't supposed to be here for another week. You were supposed to stay in Greece."

"I know."

"Why did you leave early?," Nikolas asked.

"The bad man came."

"Claudia's daddy?"

"No. The other one. He said his name was Uncle Ric."

Nikolas' stomach clenched.

"And he said he was going to give me to Grandma -- the bad grandma --"

"Helena?"

"Yes. He said that if Mommy went with him, he'd let Mommy send me back to you."

"Went with him?"

"He said bad things about Mommy. And he said he wanted to be with her in every way. Claudee didn't like me listening at the door."

_I'll bet she didn't,_ Nikolas thought. "So what happened?"

"He gave her an hour. To think. She came back in the room." Spencer started crying. "He said, he said..."

"What?" Nikolas asked, lifting Spencer onto his lap and wiping Spencer's tears away.

Spencer didn't answer. He grew quiet. Then he took a deep breath and continued with his story. "Mommy kissed my crying away. She told me she'd never leave me. And she set the hotel on fire. And we left. And we went to the airport. And Jonah had a match!"

"Yes," Nikolas said, smiling.

"And when we came here, she saw her Daddy. And she thought that if we were together, they'd catch us. So she sent me to Uncle Lucky. And I played Let's Pretend with crutches."

Whatever that meant.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, amico."

"I want to help get Claudee back."

"I know you do. But I'm going to do it for you. It's important that you stay with Uncle Luke right now. And I promise, as soon as Mommy can, she'll come see you."

"That's what she said."

Nikolas smiled. "Good. Mommy always keeps her promises."

"Where's Jonah?"

"He's at the hospital. With Aunt Lulu. He's asleep." _And hopefully will keep sleeping until this nightmare is over,_ Nikolas thought. He tucked Spencer back into bed. Kissed his forehead. "Sleep tight."

"'Night, Daddy. I missed you."

"I missed you too."

Nikolas went into the bar with Luke.

"Set the hotel on fire," Luke mused. "Your old lady's no Zacchara. Hell, she's not even a Cassadine. She's a Spencer."

Nikolas didn't answer. He was too busy making a mental note to destroy Ric Lansing.

*********************************

Crimson Pointe. Claudia's Room.

Handcuffed and locked in her room from the outside.

No matter how far away she managed to get from this place, she always ended up back here.

She tried to shake off what her father had told her about her mother. File it under Things That Would Damage Claudia For Life, and leave it to deal with later.

If Anthony was keeping prison hours, he'd be getting to sleep right about now. If Claudia was ever going to find Spencer, it had to be now. Luckily, her father had less henchman around. No one assigned to guard her door. Probably most of them were assigned to Spencer.

She was about to be in a tremendous amount of pain, so she thought she'd better make up her game plan before that distraction entered the picture.

Spencer had to be downstairs. In what normal families called "The Basement," but what Anthony called "The Wine Cellar." Not that there was more than one room devoted to wine storage. It was just an easy euphemism for when you wanted to take someone downstairs to beat the truth out of them, or keep them hostage, or terrorize them.

"The Wine Cellar" was carefully designed. In the center was a meeting room. The meeting room never made her hair stand up on end. A little too Vegas for her, but not dangerous.

A hallway circled the outer walls of the meeting room. That could be a little dicey if you didn't know how to find the staircase which led to freedom. But still, not something designed to elicit terror. After all, taking your quarry to an Outer Room was much easier if they didn't suspect anything was up.

The Outer Rooms were what tied Claudia's stomach in knots.

All along the outer edge of The Wine Cellar were rooms, with a door at either end, connecting them to the rest of the Outer Rooms. It was like walking through a train. And only one of the Outer Rooms had a third door -- a door that led to the hallway, and eventually to freedom.

Claudia wasn't too concerned about the guards in the hallway. She'd find a way to dispose of them. No, what concerned Claudia was what had always concerned Claudia about The Outer Rooms: the doors at either end. Because even if you were absolutely certain you hadn't been followed, that other door would invariably open, and you'd be caught. And if Anthony was following you from one end, and someone else was coming around the other way -- there'd be no way out.

Claudia was going to be hindered by only having one gun. One of her hands was about to be rendered useless. So Claudia was going to have to run _toward _danger once she got to Spencer. She was going to have to go back the way she came, taking care of whomever was following her. The most important thing was to get Spencer out of the house. It didn't really matter whether Claudia made it out. If she got Spencer out, she'd make sure he knew how to get to Claudia and John's shed and hide. And from there, Nikolas would find him.

She suddenly flashed back to a year ago, to a perfect moment with Spencer. They were at their city house, in Athens, and she'd been making breakfast, alone, while everyone else was sleeping. And Spencer had run into the kitchen, proud of himself. Because he'd dressed himself for the first time. Buttons a little crooked, shoelaces still untied, but so beautiful when he beamed with pride. Claudia shook her head, trying to clear it. She would be damned if anything happened to that child.

Claudia surveyed her bedroom. Still as it was when she left it. Hopefully, some things had remained hidden.

It was time.

She removed the ugly faux engagement and wedding rings from her left hand.

She tested the headboard with her free hand. She pushed it away from herself with her free hand. And began yanking her trapped hand through the handcuff.

Things became bloody. Slippery. Not helping as much as she thought it would. She curled her hand up as small as it would go. Only one or two chances to get this right.

She pushed against the headboard with her feet with all of her body strength, while yanking her hand through the handcuff. Blinding, howling pain. And a sharp CRACK.

The hand fell through, broken and useless. She couldn't see straight, let alone think. Too much pain. She struggled not to let out a sound. But a deep choking gasp for breath escaped her. She held her breath, tears streaming down her face and blinding her. She wiped at her tears impatiently with her good hand. She didn't have time for this. She got up from the bed. Went to the dresser. Took out a dark red scarf. Wrapped up her bad hand. Spencer didn't need to see that. She used another scarf to make a makeshift sling. _That_ took longer than she thought it would, using only one hand. She looked in the mirror. She didn't exactly look _normal, _but she'd probably be able to convince Spencer that this was a game. If her eyes would stop tearing.

Claudia opened up the middle drawer. Reaching inside, to the top partition. Pulled down the package that was taped there. Removed a bobby pin. Put the package back and closed the drawer. You don't grow up in a house where you can get locked into your bedroom without providing yourself with some means of escape. Not with a father who wants you dead.

Claudia held the bobby pin in her teeth. And went over to the chaise lounge. She reached under the chaise. Dammit. They had been removed. She wondered when her father had thought to look. When she was still living there? Or just now when he'd moved back? Well, there had to be a substitute for those missing scissors.

Think, Claudia, think. Claudia slowly raised her head and looked up at the mirror again. Well, her luck couldn't get any worse.

She took the mirror down from the wall, which was harder than she thought it would be, using one hand and the crook of the other arm. She put the mirror on the floor and covered it with her blanket. She jumped on it. Once. Twice. The third time was the charm. She unwrapped the broken mirror. Removed a shard. And ripped into the chaise.

She reached into the stuffing and pulled out an automatic and cartridges, and tucked them under her bad arm.

Then she unbent the bobby pin, using her good hand and her teeth. And she picked the lock to the bedroom door, opened the door, and left the room.

********************************

Across the Road from Crimson Pointe.

"I can't go in there with you," Jason said. "I already broke the Code by putting Anthony in prison. Break it twice, and I'm a dead man."

"Fine," Nikolas said. "Just tell me what I need to know."

Nikolas, Jason and Sam were crouched down, hidden by some bushes.

"You need to know that it's suicide going in there without the police," Sam hissed.

"Tell me," Nikolas said to Jason, ignoring Sam.

"Claudia's bedroom is on the second floor. You want to go in through the garage -- that's on the right side of the building. If they haven't left the garage unlocked, get out of there. As fast as you can. If you get in, there's a doorway on the left. That's going to take you inside, into the kitchen. And the back stairs are in the kitchen. Once you get up the stairs, Claudia's room is the third door on the right."

Nikolas turned to Sam. "Give me your gun," he said.

"You _are_ crazy," Sam said. "You're not going in there alone."

"Fine, come if you want to, but I need a gun."

Silence.

Jason reached into his side holster and pulled out a gun. He handed it to Nikolas. "Know how to use this?," he asked.

"It's a fully automatic Glock 18C," Nikolas said. "Lock the wrist, use both hands."

Jason and Sam stared at Nikolas.

"In my family," Nikolas said, "we prepare."

"I guess so," Sam said.

"What do you know about the Wine Cellar?," Nikolas asked Jason.

"I don't know what that is," Jason said, confused.

Nikolas nodded. He was on his own there. He looked at Jason again. "When Lucky gets here, have him send some of his men to Claudia's room. The rest need to go to the basement. But that place is like a maze. He's going to need a lot of men, and someone has to guard the staircase leading down to the basement."

"I still think we should wait for Lucky or Dante," Sam said.

"We're running out of time," Nikolas said. "Claudia's not going to wait if she thinks Spencer's in there." Nikolas ran his hand through his hair. He'd better let Sam know what she was in for. "The rooms in the basement are all around the edge of the house. But the doors are set up as if they were for train cars -- at either end..."

Jason watched Nikolas take Sam through the drill. Sonny wasn't going to be happy with Jason. But Jason couldn't let Sam do this without giving her a fighting chance. _Where the hell is Lucky?,_ he thought. _How long does it take to get a court order when you have a Zacchara on the hook?_

********************************

Port Charles Criminal Court. Judge Arroyo's Chambers.

Judge Arroyo looked at the file in front of her. The first one was easy enough. Cut and dry. Anthony Zacchara had been released from prison and immediately jumped back into a life a crime. If half the evidence in here held up, she'd be a fool not to sign the warrant. Especially if the FBI was obtaining their own.

The second one -- so flimsy. Almost nothing. But ... her courtroom had been used as a stage. She'd been played for a fool. Knowing the parties involved, the allegations were probably true. Making the charges stick would be tricky.

Judge Arroyo peered at Detective Spencer.

"This warrant is missing your superior's signature."

"I can't find him. And time is running out. The suspect has the means to flee the country."

"If you're wrong, I will simply get re-shuffled to another position. But you will be forced to leave your job."

Lucky was silent.

Judge Arroyo tapped her pen against the desk. She uncapped the pen. And signed both warrants.

**********************************

Anthony's Bedroom.

"Anthony. Anthony." What the -- the old bat was in his room.

Anthony sat up in bed. "My bedroom is off-limits, Helena."

"Your modesty is amusing, but completely unnecessary. The bedroom down the hall -- the one in red."

"Yeah?"

"If you have been keeping my grandson in there, he is now damaged. And I'm afraid we are now at odds." Helena took out a shiny silver knife.

Anthony reached under his pillow and took out a gun, pointing it at Helena. "Haven't you ever seen 'Raider's of the Lost Ark?," he asked. "My daughter is in that room. Turn on a light some time."

"If indeed you had your daughter chained up, she is now missing."

Anthony was out of bed in a flash, searching the drawers of his room.

"And I have no desire to wait for law enforcement to arrive," Helena continued, as she put her knife back into her purse. She should have never partnered up with Anthony. And she had no desire to meet a possibly armed Claudia in an unfamiliar house. "I'll be in touch," Helena said as she left the room.

Anthony hooked up three holsters to his body -- shoulder, waist and thigh. He packed them with guns, grabbed a fourth in his hand, and left the room.

*********************************

Crimson Pointe. The Wine Cellar.

"Spencer!," Claudia called out in a hushed whisper. "Amico, it's Mommy."

Four of Anthony's men were unconscious upstairs. Claudia was leaving the country at the end of Jonah's treatment, come hell or high water. She couldn't afford to leave a trail of dead men. So she'd pistol-whipped all of them and stashed their weapons.

_"When did you know I loved you?," she'd once asked Nikolas._

_He'd smiled. "The first time I caught you singing to Spencer."_

_"What an ego! I didn't love you then."_

_He'd grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him. "When you caught me looking at you, you blushed."_

_"Okay, now I know you're delusional, because I never blush."_

_He hadn't said anything else, just kissed her until she'd forgotten what they had been talking about._

The Good Life had weakened her. She wasn't cold-blooded anymore. She wasn't as strong as she used to be. Some of those unconscious guards might be getting up any second now.

"Spence! It's me!" She was in her fifth Outer Room and hadn't found a soul. Just two bedrooms set up for guests: one a toddler and one a very formal five year old. "Please, amico. We're okay. Just come out."

Claudia reached for the doorknob to the next room. She pressed herself against the wall next to the door, listening for anyone inside. She turned the knob and opened it. Silence.

She quickly threw herself in the doorway, gun firmly pointed ahead of her.

Bright lights. Too bright. Her eyes adjusted. Sitting in a wheelchair, eyes unseeing -- like her mother, just like her mother -- was Talia.

********************************

Claudia's Bedroom.

The door was ajar when Nikolas got there. He went inside.

Blood on the pillows and bedsheets. An empty pair of handcuffs attached to the bed.

He felt dizzy.

"Nikolas," Sam said quietly, putting her hand on his arm to steady him. "Nikolas, it's okay. It's all from getting out of the handcuffs." Nikolas looked up at Sam, panicked. "It's okay. I've done it before. Hurts like hell, but doesn't break you."

_"I'm too mean to die,"_ Claudia had once told him. He'd had a nightmare. In it, Helena had killed Claudia. Claudia woke him up, made him talk. Held him close. Talked him down. As they were getting ready to fall back asleep, her arms wrapped tightly around him, she'd said in a slurred, sleepy tone, _"Never happen. I'm too mean to die. You're stuck with me, Cassadine."_

Nikolas left the bedroom with Sam in close pursuit.

********************************

Anthony passed first one guard and then another. All unconscious. He'd kicked each one and hadn't gotten a response. He shot each one in the leg. It hadn't roused them, but it would make them more careful around his daughter in the future.

He reached the top of the stairs to The Wine Cellar.

"Claudia," he called down the stairs. "Take one more step and the brat dies."

********************************

Claudia stared at Talia.

"Talia?," she said, not quite believing what she was seeing. "Μ 'ακούς;" _Can you hear me? _She reached out and touched Talia's neck, feeling for a pulse. Steady. Slow.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone coming through the closest door. She whirled around, gun out.

"It's me!," Nikolas said. "It's me."

Claudia gasped for air, her arm falling to her side. She'd almost shot her husband.

"I can't find him," she said, desperately. "I can't find Spencer."

"Listen to me," Nikolas said. "Your father never had Spencer. Spencer is safe. He's been safe ever since he left you. I just came from seeing him."

Claudia struggled to absorb that.

"I swear it." Nikolas noticed Talia. That had to be Helena's handiwork. "We have to hurry. Talia needs help and --" Nikolas stopped speaking.

Claudia looked up at Nikolas and saw his eyes darken as he spotted something over her shoulder. He grabbed her and threw her to the ground.

And as Nikolas dove down after Claudia, Anthony shot Nikolas in the shoulder.

Claudia raised her gun and shot Anthony's gun out of his hand. She struggled to get up, firing her gun repeatedly. Anthony rushed out of the room.

Nikolas sat up, freeing Claudia. He looked down at his shoulder and smiled at Claudia. "Look," he said. "I did it right. No serious damage."

Claudia studied his wound. "Yes, yes, you're very smart. Try to control the smug."

Nikolas laughed and started to lower himself back down on the floor.

"No!," Claudia said.

Nikolas tilted his head, looking at her. She looked worried. Why did she look so worried?

Claudia pulled Nikolas back up to a sitting position, propping him up against the wall. And began searching the room for something to stop Nikolas' bleeding.

"I think Helena must have given Talia the same thing she gave my grandmother," Nikolas said, his words starting to slur. "Leslie will probably know what to do."

"Keep talking."

"I can't believe you gave Spencer double desserts."

"Yeah?" This place was so sterile. Empty dresser.

"Yes. Always corrupting the child behind my back."

"How many times have you said 'Don't tell Mommy' to Jonah since you've been here?" Nothing in the closet.

"Not nearly enough." He was getting dizzy. Why was she moving so fast?

"I swear, that's going to be his first complete sentence. To you. 'Don't tell Mommy.'" She opened a cabinet.

"I'd like that."

Claudia grabbed a blanket, hurried to his side, and pressed the blanket against his wound.

Nikolas groaned.

"I'm sorry, honey," Claudia said. The blanket was staining fast. Nikolas' color looked too pale. "Nik?"

"Police are coming," he said, weakly. "Stay here."

"I'm not leaving," Claudia said.

Amazing. People always said Claudia was good at lying, at hiding things. She was terrible at keeping anything from him. She was scared.

"Hey," he said, reaching over with his good arm to pull her closer.

"What?," she said, looking straight into his eyes, but blinking rapidly, trying to avoid crying.

"I think I'm too mean to die too," he said.

"Not too mean," she said, kissing his cheek. "Just too smart."

"Love you," Nikolas said.

"I love you too," she said.

Nikolas' eyes closed.

"Nikolas?"

Sam rushed into the room and took in Nikolas bleeding on the floor and the chick in the wheelchair.

And Claudia, who was now huddled over Nikolas.

"Nikolas, no," Claudia said. "Please. Stay with me. Nikolas!"

**************************

Nikolas looked around. Strange place. It looked like the lake at the Quartermaine Mansion.

"Well, it sure took you long enough," Emily said, reaching for his hand.

**************************

Sam hurried over. Claudia looked up at her.

"Help me," Claudia said.

Sam took the blanket from Claudia and held it firmly against Nikolas' shoulder.

Claudia picked up her gun and watched each entrance, glancing at Nikolas.

Dante rushed in the door. Claudia dropped her gun.

"We need an ambulance!," she said.

Dante nodded and picked up his radio, calling out numbers. He came over to Claudia's side. "Did Anthony do this?"

Claudia nodded. "Gun's by the door with his fingerprints. You didn't get him?"

"I haven't seen him."

Claudia looked at Nikolas, reaching for his hand. "How long? How long before the ambulance comes?"

"Any minute. Claudia. Any other evidence we should be looking for?"

"His phone. My father's phone."

Lucky burst into the room with two uniformed cops.

"Nikolas!," he said, seeing his brother unconscious.

"Oh, thank God," Sam said to Lucky. "Where have you been? We waited and waited until we couldn't anymore."

Lucky turned from his brother and looked at Claudia.

"He was protecting me," she said.

"Claudia Zacchara," he said. "You are under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder of the person of Michael Corinthos Jr., and being an accessory to the crime of assault with a deadly weapon upon Michael Corinthos the 3rd. You have the right to remain silent."

Claudia and Sam stared at Lucky in disbelief.

"Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

"Claudia," Dante said. "I can override this and put you under my jurisdiction. And I can bring you in instead."

"You have the right to speak to an attorney..."

Claudia shook her head. "Sam," she said. "You have to go with Nikolas to the hospital."

"...and to have an attorney present during any questioning."

Claudia grabbed Sam's free hand. "Listen, I'm sure that the hospital has a lot of Nikolas' history on file."

"If you cannot afford a lawyer..."

"But last year, Nikolas had an allergic reaction to --"

Lucky spoke louder, drowning Claudia out," ...one will be provided for you at government expense."

"I'm sorry, Claudia, I didn't hear --," Sam started to say, when Claudia got up and walked over to Lucky.

Claudia slapped Lucky with her good hand. Hard. "Shut up," she said. "Sam --"

Lucky grabbed Claudia's shoulder. She cried out in pain.

"Lucky!," Sam yelled at him.

"Ms. Zacchara, do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?"

Claudia turned to Sam, struggling as the policemen pulled her away, taking her from the room. "Listen," she said, "tell Monica, tell the doctors not to operate --"

And everything else was lost as Lucky left the room, following Claudia, shutting the door behind him.


	13. Chapter 13

Just a few more steps and Emily would be his again.

"Nikolas!," Emily laughed. "Haven't we waited long enough?"

Nikolas looked around. Lush. The landscape was lush. Something Claudia would call

_"A little too postcard perfect to be true." _

_"That sounded a little disparaging," Nikolas said._

_They were walking through a garden in Crete. The Cassadines had made a sizable donation for its upkeep, and Nikolas and Claudia had taken a field trip at the director's insistence. The director had left them alone while she took a phone call._

_"I'm a Cassadine," Claudia said. "I always look for the dark side." He glanced at her. She smirked at him, and added, "One of us has to keep an eye out for the hornets and tarantulas."_

_Nikolas laughed._

_"Laugh now. You'll thank me later."_

_He stopped and leaned close to her ear to say, "Can I thank you now?"_

_Claudia had smiled -- actually had glowed -- at him, and pulled him behind a tree._

"Emily?," Nikolas said.

"What is it?"

"Where's Claudia?"

***************************************

GreyStone. Living Room.

Jason paced, waiting for Sonny.

He didn't like this. Sam's phone call hadn't given a lot of details, but the key one was there: Lucky had arrested Claudia for Michael's shooting.

Sonny rushed down the stairs. Never had emergency visitors anymore. Maybe business was picking up. "What's going on?"

"Sonny," Jason said. "Did you have Claudia arrested?"

***************************************

General Hospital. Emergency Room.

Robin Scorpio had half an hour to go. Half an hour, and she'd be home with Patrick and Emma. She wasn't even originally on the schedule, but Matt had been doing double duty with his special pediatrics case, so here she was covering. Which she didn't mind, but she really needed a good night's sleep. And tomorrow morning, she would_ not_ sleep through a family breakfast. Again.

Sirens approached.

Epiphany hung up the phone.

"Dr. Scorpio," she said. "Incoming gunshot victim and another victim shot up with an unknown drug."

"I'll take the gunshot victim in Trauma 2. Liz, start running screens on the drug victim as soon as he's in the door."

"She," corrected Epiphany.

EMTs rushed in with the first gurney. Robin joined them, and momentarily froze when she looked down at the patient. Nikolas Cassadine.

Sam hurried over to Robin's side. "Claudia tried to tell me something -- something about an allergy. Do you know what that could be about?"

_An allergy?,_ Robin thought. _Too vague._ "I don't know. And we don't have time to check. Where's Claudia?"

***************************************

Port Charles Police Station.

Claudia hadn't let up since they'd left Crimson Pointe.

"Are you braindead?," she harangued Lucky, struggling every step of the way with the officers who were restraining her. "I need to speak to a doctor."

"Lucky?," Mac said, coming up behind Lucky. "What's going on?"

"Conspiracy to commit murder, accessory to assault with a deadly weapon," Lucky began. Claudia lunged at him, but was jerked back by an officer. "Assaulting a police officer."

"I get a phone call, right?," Claudia said, whirling around to confront Mac. "I want my phone call."

"Calm down, Ms. Zacchara." Mac took in her injured hand. "Do you need someone to look at that?"

"I need to make my phone call," she said, completely sliding into hysteria.

"Mac," Lucky said. "My brother's been shot. The hospital has his medical records. The only thing she could --"

Claudia glared at him, her good hand clenching into a fist.

Mac removed Claudia from Lucky's care and took her over to a desk. He handed her the phone. She grasped it in her hand-cuffed good hand and propped it between her ear and shoulder.

"Number?," he asked.

"General. Hospital," she said through gritted teeth.

Mac dialed.

Claudia waited. And then spoke, "Dr. Quartermaine, please. ... Well, if she doesn't want a lawsuit on her hands, she'll get on the phone and -- Claudia Cassadine."

Alexis walked into the station. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Claudia?," she said.

Claudia ignored her. "Dr. Quartermaine, Nikolas is on his way in. He's been shot. ... Look, I know you have his file there, but we found out last year that Nikolas is allergic to soy, and -- No, you have everything else. Hurry!"

She lifted the phone from her shoulder and handed it back to Mac, shaking.

Mac hung up the phone.

She turned to Lucky. "You have mental problems."

Eight uniformed cops entered with the Zacchara men Claudia had knocked out at Crimson Pointe.

"Book them," Mac said. "Then take them downstairs."

One of Anthony's men lifted his handcuffed hands, took his right forefinger and drew it across his neck, all the while looking at Claudia.

"What's going on?," Alexis said.

"I'd like someone to let Ned know I'm here, since I just used my phone call to save my husband's life. And I'd like my bail hearing set so I can get back to my child before he wakes up all alone and beginning chemotherapy." She looked around the room, and said in a loud voice, so that everyone within hearing distance could hear. "Other than that, I'm invoking my right to remain silent."

Alexis reached for her phone.

"Wait," Claudia said. "You need to call Leslie Webber first."

"Cruz," Lucky said. "Take Ms. Zacchara downstairs."

Claudia's eyes widened. "Downstairs? With my father's men? I hope you're the one," she said to Lucky, "who explains to his brother why his wife was found with a shiv in her back."

Lucky opened his mouth to speak, but Mac interrupted.

"Detective Spencer. I'd like to see you in my office."

***************************************

"Claudia?," Emily said.

"Yes. She was right here. She was with me."

Emily smiled. "That was somewhere else. It's okay. Take my hand."

_They'd been working together in Claudia's office, when Spencer had burst in. _

_"He's standing up! Hurry!" _

_"Slow down," Nikolas had said._

_"Jonah's standing up! He did it on his own! Come on!"_

_Nikolas and Claudia quickly followed Spencer as he ran back to Jonah's room._

_Jonah was still standing where Spencer had left him. He smiled sheepishly._

_And the rest of the Cassadines had applauded._

Nikolas was so used to missing Emily, he hadn't noticed when the ache had disappeared.

_Later that night, in bed, Nikolas had turned off the lamp on his night table, and Claudia had reached over him and turned it back on. _

_She hovered over him, looked him in the eye, and said, "Okay." _

_"Okay what?" _

_"Let's make a baby."_

But now that Emily was here, right here in front of him ... her skin, her smile ... he reached toward her.

"Don't do it, Nikolas," said a voice from behind him.

He recognized the voice before he turned around. Courtney.

***************************************

GreyStone.

"Why would I have Claudia arrested? You think I want to go to prison?," Sonny asked.

"Well, there aren't too many people who could testify, right?," Jason said. "And there's no evidence. So... you, me, Spinelli -- and Spinelli's out. He wouldn't turn Claudia in if it meant me going to prison. I don't even think he knows Claudia's in town. And even if he did know, and he would do this, why would he go to Lucky to --"

Both men slowly locked eyes.

"Has he talked to you about it?," Sonny said. And Jason knew he didn't mean Spinelli.

"No. We only talk about the Quartermaines," Jason answered.

"Well, he'd sure as hell know Claudia was coming into town, between his mother and his brother."

"Sonny. Nikolas has been shot. He's unconscious. Once he's awake, he'll be on this so fast..."

"Claudia would never make a deal. She'd be a dead woman inside."

"Claudia has a son in the hospital," Jason said. "If Nikolas is unconscious, the kid is alone. You've seen what Claudia would do to protect Johnny. What do you think she would do to get back to her son?"

"We've got to get to Michael."

Sonny and Jason hurried from the room.

***************************************

General Hospital. Operating Room.

Robin had scrubbed in. Bobbie was supervising. Probably not the two most objective people to treat Nikolas, but at this point, there was no waiting. The bullet which Anthony Zacchara had used was tipped with lead. It had to come out, and the bleeding had to be contained.

The anesthesiologist wheeled in an I.V. and took a packaged, sterilized needle from a drawer. He unwrapped the needle and inserted it into Nikolas' arm.

"Wait!," Monica called out from the door to the operating room. She was out of breath and disheveled -- utterly unlike herself. "The patient is allergic to soy."

The room froze.

"I hadn't started it yet," the anesthesiologist said. "I'll go get another drug." He left the room.

Monica snatched the I.V. and dragged it from the room. She didn't want to leave any possibility for a mistake.

"Oh my God," Robin said to Bobbie. "We almost killed Nikolas."

***************************************

Port Charles Police Department. Mac's Office.

Mac looked through the blinds at Claudia Cassadine. She was sitting, cuffed to an officer's desk. Unreadable.

Mac glanced back down at her file.

"Well, now I know why you didn't try to get my signature," Mac said.

"We have a witness," Lucky said.

"You have a coma victim who says he heard her confess while he was in a coma."

"Sonny will come forward. It's his son."

"And if he does?," Mac said. "It probably won't matter at this point. The arrest was sloppy."

"If she goes free, we're a joke. Michael's shooting is the worst kept secret in this town. She's supposed to get away with that?"

"Look at her. Look at her as if you don't know what she's done. The woman is injured. She should have been brought to the hospital. And she has a child who's undergoing chemotherapy. You only have one witness, who says he remembers what he heard when he was in a coma. No judge is going to let this hold."

"Give me twenty-four hours to put more together."

"And what do we do until then? While the media blitz starts. We can't put her downstairs, because we have half of her father's men -- who want to kill her -- filling up our cells."

"Look, Mac, I'm doing my job."

"No. You're out for justice no matter what. And that never serves justice very well."

There was a knock at the door.

"Yeah," Mac said.

A clerk came in and handed Mac a sheaf of papers. Mac opened it. Once he read it, he felt like he'd opened up a can of worms.

"Well," Mac said. "Claudia Cassadine was just granted an emergency bail hearing. I hope you can work well with Scott Baldwin, because Alexis Davis had to recuse."

*********************************************

PCPD. Waiting area.

_"Let me throw you a bone. Right before I shot her, do you want to know what happened?" _That was what her father had said. And then --

She had to get to Nikolas.

Ned entered headquarters to find Claudia handcuffed to the desk. Her free hand looked mangled within its makeshift sling. She looked undone. Completely different from the cool businesswoman he worked with at Cassadine Industries.

"Claudia?," he said.

She looked up at him. "I wish I could say this was the worst part of my evening, but no. No, it's not." There had been so much blood on that blanket.

"I've arranged for an emergency bail hearing." Ned sat across from Claudia and spoke softly. "I have your file on Sonny. Do you want to release it?"

Claudia tore her thoughts away from Nikolas. What was Ned saying? Sonny. "Give Sonny twenty-four hours to fix this before all hell breaks loose."

"There's a lawyer on the way. She should be here within the hour. We can --"

"I'm not waiting, Ned. I'll represent myself if I have to."

"I strongly advise you to --"

"I have to get to the hospital as soon as possible," she said violently, her voice shaking. Ned looked shocked. She composed herself. "Do you think you could check on Nikolas' condition?"

"Of course. I'll be right back." Ned said, standing up.

***************************************

This definitely wasn't heaven. Because Courtney and Emily were looking at each other as if they couldn't stand each other.

Nikolas stood between Courtney and Emily, unsure of who to turn to.

"Neither of us, Nikolas," Courtney said, as if she had read his mind.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you want to go back. You don't want to be here."

_"You may now kiss the bride."_

_"He _will_ now kiss the bride."_

"Nikolas? Do you want to leave me?," Emily asked.

"Grief is the same on either side," Courtney said. "The same way you were haunted by us in life, you're going to be haunted by those you leave behind in death."

_He was at the zoo with Spencer._

_"When I was little," Nikolas had said. "There was nothing I hated more than when people went away."_

_"Like Gramma?"_

_"Just like Gramma. But this week, I promise to stay with you all week."_

"Spencer looks great," Courtney said. "He's so happy."

"He's incredible," Nikolas said.

"I know," she said.

"I was so numb, I didn't even notice it at first. But he's brave, and loving. He has your laugh."

Courtney laughed.

"I wish you could see him."

"You'd be surprised what I can see," Courtney said, smiling. "Go. Go back to them."

_Nikolas had been mid-rant about Spencer's overbearing nature when Claudia had burst out laughing._

_"What are you laughing at?"_

_"You."_

_"I'm glad I amuse you."_

_"No. It's just that everything you're so worried about in Spencer, he got from you. He's going to be fine."_

_"Until he learns the hard way that he won't always get his way."_

_Claudia grew silent. Then she cocked her head to one side. "I have an idea," she said._

_"Does it involve mocking me?"_

_"Maybe later," she had said, smiling. She put her hand to his cheek. "So we won't let him get his way all the time all year 'round. But what about for one day? One day a year. What if we set aside one day when he could get whatever he wants?"_

"This is our chance, Nikolas," Emily said. "Our chance to be together again."

"I have a family, Em," he said apologetically. "A life. A good life."

Emily turned away from him.

"It's everything you wanted for me," he said to her. Then he corrected himself. "Almost everything. I miss you -- I'll always miss you. But I need Claudia. I need my family. And I..."

Emily started to fade.

"Emily!," Nikolas shouted, rushing toward her. "Emily!"

Emily disappeared.

When he turned around, Courtney was also gone.

And he began to feel dizzy.

***************************************

PC Courthouse. Night Court.

"In the Case of New York versus Claudia Zacchara, how do you plead?"

"Not guilty, your Honor."

Claudia had answered every question tersely, but politely. In comparison, Scott Baldwin looked like he was frothing at the mouth. Claudia hoped that would mean something to the judge, who had obviously been woken up to come here. The judge hadn't had a chance to read the file, and was clearly improvising.

"Now as to the matter of bail, Mr Baldwin, what do you suggest?"

"No bail, your Honor. The defendant is wealthy, has a jet at her disposal and has fled the country before."

"Ms. Zacchara?"

"In order to flee, don't you have to be fleeing something?"

The judge glanced down at Claudia's file. "Mr. Baldwin?," he said, flipping through the pages.

"Fine. She _left_ the country."

"I wasn't aware that was something we prohibited these days, Mr. Baldwin. Perhaps I should ask my wife to cancel our trip to Spain."

"Your honor, may I speak freely?," Claudia asked.

"Keep it brief, Ms. Zacchara."

"Mrs. Cassadine. I'm sorry to press such a minor point, your Honor, but my name is Claudia Cassadine. It has been for a year and a half. My brother-lin-law, who was the arresting officer, can't seem to absorb that fact, so your file has the wrong name." Claudia tried to slip "brother-in-law" in there unobtrusively, as if it were a casual detail, but it had the desired effect. As soon as the phrase was out of her mouth, the judge's back literally went up.

The judge looked at Scott as if his patience were being tested. "Brother-in-law?"

"Completely irrelevant, your Honor," Scott said.

"Your Honor, I'm willing to disregard that myself," Claudia said. "But I'd appreciate it if the record would be changed to reflect my actual name."

"Duly noted. Is that all?"

"No. This case relies on the supposed memories of a child, memories from when he was _in a coma_. That's it. That's the sum total of evidence and testimony."

The judge glanced through Claudia's file again. He looked, now incredulously, at Scott.

"Your Honor," Claudia said, drawing his attention back to her, "My one and a half year-old son is at General Hospital right now. Because a port was installed in his chest today so that he could start chemotherapy for his leukemia tomorrow -- " Claudia looked at her watch "-- make that this morning. My husband was just rushed to the hospital with a gunshot wound. I'm not going to leave the country."

"Your Honor," Scott interjected, refusing to let his case slip away from him. "Ms. Zacchara has a history of discarding family and associates as if they were fungible."

"I believe Mrs. _Cassadine_ has the floor, Mr. Baldwin," the Judge interrupted.

Claudia nodded. "Thank you. I will pay any amount of bail money you'd like. Barring that, I will pay the salaries of any officers you'd like to have accompany me to the hospital. Or pay for an ankle monitor. Anything so that my child doesn't wake up alone with the port for the first time and so that I can be with my husband. I assure you, there is no way I would leave Port Charles now."

Claudia coughed a little. She wiped away a tear. Where was Ned?

"A moving performance, Mrs. _Cassadine_," Scott said. "Your Honor, the accused has a history of emotional testimony."

"Perhaps, given what I've witnessed today, she's had reason to be emotional," the Judge said. "Mrs. Cassadine, you are hereby released upon payment of bail in the amount of $10,000. Please see the court officer to make arrangements for an ankle monitor. Mr. Baldwin, I suggest you solidify your case if you'd like to get to trial."

The judge banged his gavel.

Ned rushed in from the back of the courtroom. "Claudia," he said. "Monica got the message to the O.R. in time. He made it. Nikolas made it through the surgery."

Claudia burst into tears of relief.

***************************************

General Hospital. Reception Area.

The ankle monitor had been attached. Ned had had a limo waiting for Claudia when she left the station. He'd let her know that Sam was already in pursuit of Anthony. And Alexis had told him she was working on getting the charges dropped.

Claudia hollowly began making arrangements. For changes to her Will. For Talia's husband, Georgios, to fly to Port Charles. For Nikolas' pain management. She tried to find out where Spencer was, but no one knew. Or no one would tell her.

What else, what else?

Hard to concentrate. Nikolas was so good at this. Crisis management. It was like he went into hyperdrive during an emergency. He thought four times as fast as a normal person. And he was much better at keeping his emotions in check.

_Fungible._ That's what Scott had said. It meant that people, places and things were easily replaceable to Claudia. What a joke.

By the time Claudia reached Nikolas' room at General Hospital, her mask had gone up again. She'd be no good to anyone if she was a neurotic mess.

Dr. Quartermaine looked up from Nikolas' bedside. She took note of Claudia's injured hand.

"Are you all right?," she asked Claudia.

"How is he?," Claudia asked, ignoring the question, and going to Nikolas' side. So pale.

"Getting stronger. The bullet extraction was easy. It's the blood loss that's a problem."

Claudia nodded as she impatiently brushed away a tear. She took Nikolas' hand in hers. Held onto it tightly.

"Your friend...," Monica said.

"Friend?"

"The woman in the drugged state."

"Talia. Talia Petrides."

"We'll need some information on her. Who to contact..."

"Her husband's on his way from Greece. She only speaks Greek, so --"

"She'll be out for a few days."

Claudia nodded. She looked down at Nikolas and stroked his cheek. Too still. Not how he slept at all.

"Laura was here. When he got out of surgery. But she got a call from Lucky and had to leave."

_Lucky,_ Claudia thought. _Nice._

"Nikolas is going to be out for awhile. I can stay until you get back."

"I don't want him to wake up without me here."

"That won't be a problem. He's been given a lot of drugs," Monica said apologetically.

Claudia shivered, anticipating Nikolas' reaction to that. "Can you...?"

"He needs painkillers, Claudia."

"I know. But I have someone coming. An alternative medical professional from New York. I need you to hold off on any more painkillers. Load him up with anything else you need to, but --"

"I understand," Monica said. Claudia let Nikolas have his way on drugs, Monica noted. She wasn't sure if anyone else ever had.

"He hates anything that clouds his mind. It's nothing personal." Claudia suddenly remembered she was talking to Nikolas' ex-mother-in-law. "You probably know all about this."

"I know he hates drugs. I never quite got why."

"Partly his Russian background. Partly a personal quirk. But mostly because he's always had to be on guard. In his family, being drugged was usually the first step toward being rendered helpless by Helena."

Monica quietly stared at Claudia. Then she remembered herself. "I'll make sure he doesn't get any more painkillers."

Claudia bent down and kissed Nikolas' forehead. She brushed his hair with her fingers. She took a deep breath. Stood up straight.

"I... I need to see my son," Claudia said.

"Of course."

***************************************

Lucky Spencer's House.

Laura let herself into the house. She almost jumped a foot in the air when she turned on the light and saw Lucky sitting on the couch.

"How is he?," Lucky asked.

Laura dropped her keys on the coffee table. "He made it through the surgery."

Lucky nodded. His whole body sagged in relief.

She sat down next to him.

"The only reason I'm here, Lucky, is because Claudia was released. And she'll be there before he wakes up." She summoned up the courage for what she was about to say. "He could have died."

"Because he was in that house. Protecting her."

"Because you couldn't give her enough time to tell Sam that he was allergic to the anesthetic. Monica made it to the operating room just in time."

"It could have gone either way," Lucky said, looking up at his mother with red-rimmed eyes. "What if she had been lying? She lies all the time. It's her stock and trade."

"Listen to me, Lucky. I'm telling you that you made a mistake that almost cost your brother his life, and you're still not listening."

"I know what I did! I had to make a decision. I made the wrong one. I know I almost killed him. I know that now." Lucky began to cry.

Laura pulled him close and hugged him. "I love you, Lucky. But whatever is fueling this blind hatred of Claudia has got to stop. Before it _does_ get someone killed. Or throws those boys into the hands of Helena and Claudia's father."

Lucky pulled away from her. "_Blind_ hatred? She got away with having my cousin's son shot. And he came to me -- _Michael _ came to me, and he said he would testify. He said he'd waited for years for justice. That every single member of this town -- down to his mother and father -- was willing to let Claudia go to save their own hides. And we're supposed to let her go. Why? Because Nikolas loves her? Because she hasn't done anything else lately?"

"Because there are very few people in this town who haven't been in her position. Who haven't done something that unintentionally destroyed someone's life. Who aren't wracked by a guilt that won't go away. There is no easy way out of this for Claudia."

"Stop. Please stop."

"I'm asking you to have a little compassion."

"No," he said. "You're asking me to pretend that what she did wasn't wrong."

"Lucky --"

"As if you even know what right and wrong are."

Laura stopped speaking, wounded. She felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her.

"I don't understand," Lucky said. "I don't understand how you keep making everything okay for yourself."

"It doesn't matter," Laura said. "It doesn't matter how I make anything for myself. This is about Nikolas. About your brother. If you don't fix this, Lucky, you are going to lose your brother."

"I've already lost my brother. When he took her out of the country, letting her live with his son. What does he think is going to happen when Spencer finds out the truth?"

"Well, hopefully, he and Claudia will have raised a little boy who can look beyond a person's mistakes to what's in that person's heart."

Lucky stared at Laura. Then he got up. He went to the door.

"Where are you going?," Laura asked.

He didn't answer. He left the house.

Laura let out a growl of frustration.

***************************************

Jonah's Hospital Room.

Lulu was sleeping in a chair by Jonah's bed when Claudia arrived.

Claudia quietly closed the door and slipped a chair next to Lulu's.

She sat down and nudged Lulu.

Lulu opened her eyes and slowly looked over at Claudia.

"Hey," Lulu said.

"How is he?"

"He hasn't woken up yet." Lulu looked at Claudia's hand. "What happened? Where's Nikolas?"

"Recovering from surgery," Claudia said quietly. "My father shot him, but he's going to be okay. I swear it."

"How come no one came to get me?"

"Well, I can't speak for the staff here, but I was detained elsewhere. Your brother had me arrested." Claudia watched Lulu's mind consider the possibilities before her mind landed on Lucky.

"_Lucky?_"

"Technically, I'm still under arrest," Claudia said, gesturing to her ankle monitor.

Lulu rubbed her eyes, trying to fully wake up. She turned to Claudia again. "Do you need a lawyer?"

Claudia was taken aback. She was so used to dealing with Lulu as someone to tolerate that she hadn't noticed when she'd slipped into friendly territory. "No," Claudia said. "Ned is taking care of that."

Lulu got up.

"Lulu, please don't get involved. It's going to be bad enough when Nik wakes up."

"I'm just going to get Matt. For your hand," Lulu said, walking to the door. She turned back to Claudia. "I'm know you think I'm stupid, but come _on._"

Lulu left the room.

*****************************************

Liz and Matt's House.

The doorbell rang insistently.

Liz stumbled down the stairs. Matt had taken the kids to school and daycare. Her first opportunity to sleep late in a month, and someone was blowing it to bits.

She tripped over a toy trolley car. "Shoot!," she said under her breath.

The doorbell rang again.

"Just a minute!," she called out, half-hopping to the door.

She opened the door.

It was Lucky.

"Is Matt home?"

"No. He's at the hospital."

"Good. Can I come in?"

*****************************************

Port Charles University.

Sonny and Jason came in through the doors to the Science Building. Who took classes at this hour? The sun was barely out.

Sonny looked down at the piece of paper he'd been given by the registrar's office.

"Room 168," he said.

Sonny's phone rang. He picked up. "Yeah? ... I heard, _Ned_. ... We're trying to take care of it now. ... Well, you tell Claudia -- ... Ned?" Sonny hung up. He turned to Jason. "Claudia's giving us 24 hours."

"We're here," Jason said, stopping in front of Room 168..

They peered in the door window. Lab. Michael was dissecting something larger than a frog and smaller than a human corpse.

Sonny and Jason looked at each other. They opened the door and went into the room.

"Excuse me," Sonny said to the professor. "We're here to see my son."

***************************************

General Hospital.

Matt had managed to get Claudia x-rayed and back into Jonah's room.

And he sat next to her, giving her a shot to numb the pain.

"I'm also open to painkillers," Claudia said. "Whatever you've got. Demerol. Dilaudid."

Matt couldn't tell whether she was joking. "Are you a junkie, Claudia?," Matt asked, in mock horror.

"Well, usually I like my pharmaceuticals. But I hold off when I'm pregnant. You're not poisoning my kid, are you, Doc?"

"No," Matt said. "But this is a one-time thing. Just for setting your bone. Actually, bonesssss." Claudia's hand was a mess.

Claudia played with Jonah's hair using her good hand.

"No tendon or muscle damage," Matt said. "Which is a miracle. Mind telling me how you got this?"

"I'd rather not," Claudia said.

"Are you in and out of hospitals in Greece all the time, or is it just us?"

"Yes, that must be it. I find this place so warm and welcoming, I just can't stay away."

"Can you feel this?," Matt said, moving her fingers.

"No."

"Good." Matt set Claudia's hand in a splint while Lulu watched.

Claudia turned to Lulu. "Have you seen Spencer? How is he?"

"I don't know. I haven't left the hospital. I heard he's okay. I don't know where he is."

Claudia was quiet. Then she asked, "Can you do me one more favor?"

"Sure."

"Stay with Nikolas until I can get there. And make sure he doesn't hear about the arrest."

Lulu wrinkled her nose. "Nikolas doesn't like --"

"People keeping things from him. I know. But I'll take the rap on this one. I promise. I know you can't tell when I'm telling the truth, but I am. Now."

"So help me God, Claudia, if he hates me --"

"He won't."

Lulu picked up her purse and left the room.

"All done," Matt said.

"Thank you. How soon before he wakes up, do you think?"

"Soon."

"And chemo?"

"I'm going to hold off until this afternoon. I'm going to send a nurse in soon. To start monitoring him."

"Which nurse? Someone good?"

"Nadine Crowell."

Claudia gave a bitter laugh.

"Problem?"

"Not as big as my other ones."

With that, Claudia turned away from Matt and leaned over Jonah.

Matt left the room.

"Piccolo," Claudia whispered. "Stella stellina, la notte si avvicina," she sang softly.

Jonah's eyes fluttered open.

"Welcome to today, Jonah," Claudia said, kissing his cheek.

Jonah moaned.

"I know, piccolo. Not such a good day."

Jonah reached toward the port, saying "No." Claudia gently pulled his hands away from it. "Mama, no."

"I'm sorry, Jonah. But you can't touch the magic door."

He didn't look any happier, but she definitely had his attention now.

"Let me tell you about the magic door. This" -- Claudia pointed to the port -- "is where they're going to pour the magic water inside you. And it's going to run all around your body. Inside. And your body will say, 'Hey now, enough of that. I have enough running around me as it is.' And your body will get grumpy. Like Mommy when someone says my eel tastes like chicken."

Jonah laughed weakly.

"But if you can wait, the magic water will start doing wonderful things. You'll feel so good that you'll be able to stay up as late as Spencer. And if we could fill our pool with cheese, you could eat every last piece."

Jonah sighed a little.

"Are you hungry?"

Jonah shook his head.

Claudia used her good hand to toy with his hair again and then lightly placed the back of her hand on his forehead. He was so warm. "Ti adoro." _I adore you._ She kissed the top of his head. "Vorrei poter passare attraverso questo per voi." _I wish I could go through this for you._ "But I think if you were going to go through this anywhere, this is the best place to be. This is a special place. Because this is where I met you."

Jonah looked up at Claudia, wide-eyed.

"It's true," she said. "A few floors down, because your father was a smarty pants, but it was here. By the way, if you ever tell anyone I used the phrase 'smarty pants,' I'll say, 'Well, that's just ridiculous. Do I look like someone who would say _smarty pants_?'"

Jonah giggled.

Claudia smiled at him. "Do you want to hear about the day I met you?" She touched her finger to the tip of his nose.

"Yes," he said, grabbing for her finger and pulling it to him.

"Okay. Do me a favor?"

"Yes."

"Close your eyes."

Jonah closed his eyes, still holding onto her finger as tightly as he could.

"Once upon a time, there was a secret room underneath this very building..."

************************************

Port Charles University. Stairwell.

"I don't want you here. I don't want you mixed up in my college life," Michael said.

"Well, then, that's real easy to fix, Michael. Stop playing games with Claudia Zacchara."

"Is _that_ what this is about?," Michael asked. "What are you -- so scared of ending up in prison, you're willing to let her get away with shooting me? Again?"

"Okay," Sonny said. "You're not getting it. First off, Claudia didn't shoot you --"

"Oh my God," Michael said. "I don't want anymore mob apologists in my life. I get that enough from Mom."

Sonny opened his mouth to speak, but Jason put his hand on his arm. "Let me explain," he said to Sonny.

"Give it a shot," Sonny said.

"Michael," Jason said. "Trials are not cut and dried. Even if Claudia didn't release the information on your father and me, we have a bigger problem."

"What? More whispering around town? Big deal."

"Michael. Why do you think Claudia ordered a hit on your father?"

"Because that's what you people do."

"Michael," Sonny said. "She ordered that hit because I had kidnapped her brother and beat him."

"You're some role model, you know that?"

"Claudia's lawyers -- and believe me, Claudia's got the kind of money that will pay for the best -- her lawyers are going to dig deeper," Jason continued. "Why do you think your father kidnapped Johnny Zacchara and beat him?"

"Is any reason you come up with going to be a good one?"

"It was because he thought the Zaccharas had shot Kate and kidnapped you."

Michael fell silent.

"And when Claudia's detectives and lawyers get through with their investigation and their witnesses, what do you think is going to come out?"

Sonny put his hand on Michael's shoulder. "You were a kid. You didn't know any better."

Michael shrugged Sonny's hand off. He turned to Jason. "So you're saying I'm going to go to prison. For shooting Kate."

"Probably, yeah. Claudia's giving you time to decide what you want. She could have already put me and your father away for life. But she's giving you the choice. She let us know that you have 24 hours."

***************************************

General Hospital.

When Claudia got back to Nikolas' hospital room, Viktor was outside.

Sent back from Uncle Rudy in Milan_. _Nikolas had really been in crisis management mode. Hyperdrive.

"Good morning, Mrs. Cassadine."

"Maybe for you, Viktor, but we're having a hell of time of it."

The man never cracked a smile. Ever. But Claudia liked him.

Claudia went into the room.

Lulu looked up from Nikolas' bedside. "Is Jonah awake?"

_"Let me throw you a bone. Right before I shot her, do you want to know what happened?"_

"Claudia?"

"He's back asleep," she answered. "Mind switching with me?"

"No," Lulu said. "Do you want me to call my mother? I'm sure she'd be glad to help."

"She's with Lucky," Claudia said.

"Oh," Lulu said.

Lulu slipped out her chair and Claudia slipped into it.

"I'll get you if there's any change," Lulu said.

Claudia didn't answer. Lulu left the room.

Claudia brushed her hand over Nikolas' cheek. He was so stubbly. She smiled. She loved Nikolas scruffy. Nikolas _hated_ it. He was such an aristocrat. If she wasn't so good at seduction, she was sure Nikolas would dash out of bed every morning to shave. But somehow she was always able to stall the inevitable.

Viktor entered the room with a breakfast tray for Claudia. Nikolas had him too well trained, Claudia thought.

"Viktor," she said. "I need to send out for something."

***************************************

Matt and Liz's House. Living Room.

"What happened to Anthony Zacchara?"

"He was gone by the time I got there." Lucky looked thoroughly wrecked. "It's my fault that Nikolas got shot."

"Well, no," Liz said. "No one knows what would have happened if you'd gotten there earlier."

"He almost died because I didn't let Claudia tell Sam about the allergy."

"Why didn't you?," Liz said gently.

"Have you ever seen Claudia lie?"

"Probably," Liz said. "But she loves Nikolas."

"She loves manipulating."

"No," Liz said. "She loves Nikolas. And Spencer." Liz sat down next to Lucky on the couch. "You don't have to tell me about all of the reasons Claudia's a nightmare. I'm one of Robin's best friends. And Claudia's been rude to me on more than one occasion. If she hadn't come into Nikolas' life, he'd probably still be in Port Charles. And, no matter how anyone justifies it, she's responsible for a child getting shot."

"So why?"

"Why what?"

"Why is that so hard for everyone else to understand?"

"Because nothing is that cut and dry, Lucky. Have you ever seen Claudia protect Spencer?"

Lucky didn't answer.

"I have. And look at Nikolas. He's the most suspicious, overbearing person I know. Sure, he falls in love easily, but when he catches wind of the idea that he's being played? He's your worst nightmare. Claudia loves him. And he loves Claudia. They've been together too long for it to be anything else. Let me ask you something."

"Okay," he said, after a moment's pause.

"Let's say you're right. Let's say that Claudia is using Nikolas and Nikolas can't see it. And eventually she's going to kill him and take his money and his power and do who knows what with all of it. Forgetting the fact that I can't figure out where Spencer would fit into all of this -- and she does love Spencer -- can we at least agree that she loves Spencer?"

"I guess."

"I'll take that answer. So Claudia wants to kill Nikolas. But somehow, she waits. Until she's back in Port Charles. Instead of on their private island where she can control every aspect of the crime, where no one who loves Nikolas is around to witness anything. And how does she go about killing Nikolas? She gives instructions to the hospital that will lead to his death. General Hospital, where his ex-mother-in-law -- who adores him -- is in charge. And Claudia gives instructions that will lead right back to her as a murderer. Does that sound like someone who has always covered her tracks and gotten away with every crime she's committed?"

Lucky buried his face in his hands. When she put it like that...

"It's rough to get used to the idea of Nikolas with someone like her. I get that. Your instinct is protect him, get him out of the path of a disaster."

"She's changed him."

"She's made him happy."

"Come on, Elizabeth, you know exactly what I'm talking about it. You got so mad at him for helping Claudia that you said something that made him stop talking to you."

"No," Liz said. "I got mad because Nikolas didn't tell me the truth. Simple as that."

"Because he's changed."

"I've had over a year to sit and stew about this, Lucky. He didn't tell me the truth because the last time he did, I almost got Claudia killed."

Lucky was silent. "That still doesn't mean she doesn't belong in prison," he said finally. "She just got away with it. She got him shot and got away with it. And everybody's acting like nothing happened. Like it was something you just get over. Like it didn't matter. You don't get to do something like that and forget about it, and just go on. You can't hurt someone like that."

Liz's face softened with a realization. "Lucky," she said, gently again. "You can't punish Claudia for something she hasn't done."

"She did it. She got him shot."

"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about before. I'm talking about something in the past that was never punished, that _you_ live with every day. What happened with Michael has nothing to do with your father raping your mother."

Lucky shot up off the couch. "No. That's not what I'm doing."

"I know this is hard, but I think it has something to do with what you're doing."

Lucky went to the door. "I know you're trying to help," he said. "But you're wrong."

He left the house.

After he left, Liz stared at the closed front door. She understood what was happening to Lucky. Too clearly. When you live your life through the prism of the worst things that have happened to you, you never move forward. That's what had happened to Nikolas after Emily died. Until Claudia.

She understood, because -- like Matt had said... like Matt had said...

Liz's head shot up.

She was out the front door before she realized she wasn't dressed. She went back in the house and ran upstairs to get dressed.

**************************************

Nikolas' Hospital Room. Later.

Viktor brought in a can of shaving cream and a razor.

"Thank you, Viktor," Claudia said, placing a small bowl of hot water on the table next to Nikolas' bed.

"You're welcome, Mrs. Cassadine."

"You look tired. You should have someone relieve you."

"No, thank you, Mrs. Cassadine."

"Thank you, Viktor. Could you...?"

"What?"

She handed him the shaving cream. Viktor looked at her oddly and then looked at her broken hand. His face melted in understanding.

He squeezed out a healthy amount of shaving cream and lathered it on Nikolas' face.

"I'm sorry, Viktor. I know this probably seems ridiculous. And I know it's not in your job description."

"Better this than disposing of 40 bodies."

"Point taken."

Viktor rinsed his hands and left the room.

Claudia sat down beside Nikolas.

"Since you let it spill how much you like my voice," she said to Nikolas, "I thought I'd talk to you while I do this." She picked up the razor and started on his left side.

"Jonah woke up a little while ago. I was there. He's very grumpy, but tired. He went back to sleep. I think he'll be out for a few hours, but Lulu's with him. She'll come get me if he wakes up."

She rinsed the razor, using the little bowl of water.

"I guess I should make a few confessions," she said, finishing up his left side. "You'll be happy to know that I think I've talked Spencer out of a tattoo for now. On the other hand, he saw me driving the car with my knees, so that wasn't so good. I think I might have won some 'cool mom' points with that one, though."

She rinsed the razor again, and started on his right side.

From outside the door, Laura peered in through the window.

"He asked me about Courtney. He saw that my belly had popped, and we were talking nicely about it, and he naturally asked about his other mommy. I told him some of what you've told me. About his hands. And how she made you laugh. And about the time on the roof, the one when it rained. I think he liked that. But I think you should tell him the rest."

_"In my family, love is dangerous," _she had told him. Way back during those first two weeks she'd stayed with him. And then she'd made him her family. Loved him.

She wiped away a tear with the back of her hand and began to shave under his jaw. "This is something I'd never tell you if you were awake, but sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I'd gotten my way. If I'd let Sonny kill me, but Jonah went to you. You would have never left your family. Or your friends. And -- you know... you wouldn't have gotten shot. Jonah would have had his umbilical --" She couldn't get the last word out.

Claudia bowed her head. "Please God," she said. "I'll do anything, just make them okay."

Laura reached for the door handle, and then thought better of it. This was a private moment. For a husband and a wife.

Which turned her thoughts to the last place she wanted them to be. Laura needed to talk to Luke. She left the window.

**************************************

Matt's Office.

Matt was combing through Jonah's files. He'd done this every day since Jonah had been brought in, but you never knew when you might have missed something that could be important.

"Big day."

Matt looked up to find Liz standing in his doorway.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

She came and sat on his desk. "I know today is going to be rough. But you'll be fine. You're a great doctor."

"Just great?"

Liz laughed. "You're ready."

"I'd better be," Matt said soberly. "I've never seen anything progress this quickly."

"When do the specialists get here?"

"Next week. But we're sending them progress reports. Hey."

"What?"

"Don't you have today off?"

"I do."

"You came in on your day off?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because yes."

"Yes," he echoed slowly, not understanding.

"Yes," she repeated. "Yes, I'll marry you."

**************************************

Nikolas' Hospital Room.

Nikolas felt something against his chest. He opened his eyes and saw Claudia lying asleep across it. Blonde Claudia. Hard to get used to. He moved his good arm up and brushed his hand through her hair.

She slowly stirred. "Nikolas?," she said sleepily.

"Mm-hm," he said.

She lifted her head. "You're awake."

"How's Jonah?"

"He woke up once. He's cranky, but pretty good, considering."

"Good. Talia?"

Claudia was quiet for a moment. "It's going to take awhile," she said. "I sent the jet for Georgios and put guards on Alex."

Nikolas reached out and took her good hand in his. "I'm sorry. About your mother. I --"

"I can't talk about that right now," Claudia said quickly.

Nikolas studied her. He decided not to press the subject for now. Claudia was probably holding herself together for Jonah. "How long was I out for?," he asked.

"It's morning," she answered. She squeezed his hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been shot." He smiled, loopy from the drugs.

She laughed softly. "You're so bad. Listen, I couldn't get them to hold off on the pain killers while you were asleep, but I have a New York acupuncturist coming in a couple of hours."

So perfect. Claudia was perfect. "If I could take you on this bed right now," he said, "you'd be in more trouble than you can handle."

She smiled, remembering. "I can wait. And I can handle it." She kissed him. "I love you so much."

"I love you too. Come up next to me," he said, when she pulled back.

So much for the ankle monitor staying safely hidden under the bed. Might as well get this over with, before someone else burst in and informed Mr. Honesty First. "I have to tell you something."

"Can you come up here with me first? I'm lonely."

She kissed him again. "No. I'll tell you what I have to tell you, and then I promise you'll have a hard time prying me away from you. But first, let's make a deal."

"Depends."

She gently traced his lips with her fingers. "You know how only one of us gets outraged or out of control at a time?"

"Yes," he said, kissing her fingertips.

"Let me do it this time. And I promise, when I'm shot, you can take Outrage Duty. Deal?"

"We'll see."

She shook her head in mock exasperation and then rested her chin on the heel of her good hand. "I hate your brother."

Nikolas' eyes narrowed. This was the first time she'd spoken about one of his family members this way since they'd been married. And she'd always made his brother off-limits.

"I have a good reason," she said.

"Go on."

"He arrested me."

"He what?" Nikolas struggled to battle his way out of his pain killer fog.

"Look at this." She clambered up onto the bed, showing off her ankle monitor. "Had to do some fancy footwork to arrange this. Is your brother really as stupid as he seems?"

There was a knock on the door.

Ned entered.

"Good to see you awake," he said to Nikolas. "And these," he said, turning to Claudia and handing her some documents, "are for you."

"What's that?," Nikolas asked.

"It's just some custody paperwork," Claudia said. "For if I'm ever arrested again and you're incapacitated. The boys go to your mother."

Nikolas nodded.

"Alexis should be here any minute," Ned said.

There was another knock at the door.

"Right on cue," Claudia muttered, seeing Alexis's face through the door window.

The door to the room opened. Alexis entered with a policeman.

"The charges have been dropped," Alexis said.

The policeman removed Claudia's ankle monitor and left.

"How did this happen?," Nikolas asked Alexis.

"'Hello, Aunt'," Alexis said. "'Aren't you going to ask me how I'm feeling?' Hello, Nikolas. How are you feeling?"

"How did this happen?"

"I don't know," Alexis admitted. "I'm sorry, Claudia. I had no idea that any of this was going on."

Claudia was silent.

Ned gently tugged at Alexis' elbow. "We should probably go."

"Right," Alexis said. She turned back to Nikolas. "If you need anything --"

"I'll call you later," Nikolas said.

"Okay." She turned to leave and then turned back to him. "How _are_ you feeling?"

"Like I've been shot."

Alexis nodded and left the room with Ned.

Nikolas stared at Claudia questioningly.

"I can't be nice right now, Nikolas. Do you know how close we came to losing the kids because of your idiot brother? And I don't know who else was involved. Not really."

Nikolas was silent for awhile.

"I'm not allowed to have opinions?"

"No, it's not that. I'm just trying to figure some things out for myself too."

"Okay." She settled herself against him.

He brushed his hand over her belly. "Have you been taking care of yourself?"

"Probably not as much as I should."

"Did you eat?"

"Yes, Master Nikolas."

Nikolas laughed. That sounded much better coming from Claudia than Alfred. "Would you do me the great favor of drinking a large glass of water right now?"

Claudia rose from the bed, casting a glance back at him. "You have the memory of an elephant," she said, as she went to the sink and poured herself a glass of water.

"It wasn't that long ago."

She returned to the bed and downed the water.

"Have you seen Spencer?," he asked her.

Claudia looked incredibly uncomfortable with the question. She put the glass down and climbed back up, lying next to him. "I don't know where he is," she finally admitted.

"He's at the Haunted Star."

"Okay." Claudia stroked his cheek.

"Hey," Nikolas said, realizing something with her touch. "Did ... did you _shave _me while I was out?"

"Well, it was a lot easier to do than it is when you're awake."

Nikolas laughed. Claudia was always complaining that he moved around too much when she shaved him. How anyone could stay still around Claudia was beyond him.

"And," she continued, "I figure you have to get your way every once in a while."

Nikolas' face fell. He looked up at Claudia. "I shouldn't have made you do it," he said quietly.

Claudia was silent. And then she leaned her forehead against his. "Nikolas," Claudia said. "It could have gone either way. We have that whole yin yang thing going on. I guarantee, if you'd been cautious about the pregnancy, I would have pushed for it." She grabbed his hand and held it to her belly. "I really, really want this child."

Nikolas kissed her.

"The baby hasn't kicked yet," she said. "We were saving that for you."

"Have you seen a doctor?"

"Just Dr. Hunter. For this." She raised her bandaged hand.

"What about the baby?"

She didn't answer for a long moment. "Dr. Lee doesn't like me."

"What do you mean? Is she unprofessional?"

"I don't want to get into it. I promise you, once Jonah's doing a little better, I'll go to New York City and get checked out there."

"Claudia."

"Please."

It took everything he had to not get out of the bed and drag her to an obstetrician. But something was wrong. Claudia was not herself. And he was going to take care of that, starting now. "All right." He lifted her bandaged hand and kissed it. "This is the last of it. From now on, we go on the offensive."

She raised her head, looking up into his eyes. "What does that mean?"

"It means," he said, "that if Ric shows up, he will be systematically destroyed professionally and personally. The F.B.I. will not get a chance to set your father free again. He is going to pay for what he did to your mother." He felt Claudia shiver, and held her even tighter. "And we will decide how to handle Helena. Together. As for everything else, we are done with niceties."

"Are you sure?"

"We have power. It's time to use it."

She looked at him curiously, and then -- much to her embarassment -- she yawned.

"Aha," he said. "You didn't _sleep._"

"Sure I did. I was sleeping when you woke up."

"For how long?"

"You're just going to pick away until you find the flaw, aren't you?"

"I detect avoidance in your answer."

"I detect a Know It All in bed with me."

"Go to sleep."

She smiled at him. Kissed him. It was so good to be close to him again. It had been too long. "Okay," she said, carefully curling up against him.

She closed her eyes.

She was out in a matter of seconds.

Nikolas looked down at her. She had broken her own body to save their son.

He stroked her hair. They couldn't afford any mistakes anymore. Anthony would never get a chance to get near her again. And as for his own family, the one in Port Charles: Until he knew who could be trusted, he was going to be very careful.

********************************************

Nikolas' Hospital Room. Later.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Nikolas called out as quietly as he could, keeping as still as he could. Claudia was still asleep.

Matt entered the room and took note of Claudia. "Hey," he whispered to Nikolas. "Sorry to interrupt. We need to get started with Jonah."

Nikolas gently shook Claudia. "моя душа." He said the term of endearment softly, lovingly.

"Что случилось?," she murmured, half-asleep. _What happened?_

"They're going to start the chemo."

"Oh." She sat up.

Claudia and Nikolas looked at each other for a long moment.

He squeezed her hand.

"As soon as I can," Claudia said, "I'll have you moved in with Jonah." She kissed him, got up from the bed, and followed Matt out of the room.

Nikolas' face darkened.

He turned to the phone by his bed. He reached over, picked up the phone, and dialed.

"Lucky. It's Nikolas," he said coldly. "We need to talk."


	14. Chapter 14

Upstate New York. Cavallo Territory. Morning.

Three guns. That's what Anthony had left now. Three guns and a desire to strangle his oldest child. With barbed wire.

The safe house he was hiding in was underground. And he couldn't really call it "safe." Cavallo was blaming Claudia _and_ Anthony for the loss of his men. Anthony wouldn't be able to stay long in this territory.

He wasn't sure what to do yet. Claudia was tricky. She'd probably give up the sick kid to secure her future, but it was hard to tell. She'd done a real good job of snowing the prince. The guy thought he'd married someone who was capable of love. Ha! Jerk had probably even shared his bank account numbers with Claudia. Cassadine was in for a rude awakening.

In the end, Claudia wouldn't be a problem. Anthony had brought her into the world, and he'd take her out of it. No, his problem right now was which kid to bank on. The sick kid seemed pretty far gone. But he was definitely a boy. And maybe he'd only gotten this sick because his parents didn't know how to deal with doctors.

But the boy was going to be harder to get to than the baby.

All Anthony needed to do to get to the baby was to get to Claudia. And Claudia was just insane enough to let Anthony do it. Push her buttons and watch her come out of the woodwork. Because there was always leverage. No matter what, you could always find the weakness that...

And there it was. He didn't need one kid. He needed both. He'd play on Claudia's weaknesses to get the baby. And then he'd play on the prince's weaknesses to get to Anthony Jr. (_Much better name than "Jonah,"_ Anthony thought as an aside). After all, girl or no, the baby was Cassadine's flesh and blood. The prince would do anything to get the baby back. What man wouldn't trade a bastard sick kid of no blood relation for a healthy legit kid with the right blood running through her veins? And if the baby was a boy? Well, no one ever said Anthony was good at keeping his word.

Things were looking up.

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah's Hospital Room.

"Who needs you, Mr. Grumpy Face? I'm going to be happy by myself."

This was what Claudia had walked in on. Nurse Nadine playing with finger puppets to amuse Jonah.

"Mama!," Jonah said. "Ciao."

"Ciao, piccolo. Stai bene?" _You okay?_

"Yes." He smiled at her, but his voice wobbled.

Claudia smiled back. "Buono. Si può aspettare per me? " _Good_. _Can you wait for me?_

"Sì."

"Thank you." She signaled to Lulu. Lulu got up to join her. Nadine lifted her finger puppets back up.

"I was coming to get you," Lulu said in hushed tones, looking exhausted, "but then this" -- she stared at Nadine -- "was so weird I couldn't take my eyes off it."

"How's Jonah taking it?"

"He mostly looks confused."

_Thank God,_ thought Claudia. She pulled her attention away from Jonah and glanced at Lulu. At second glance, Lulu looked completely wiped out. "I think you should go home and get some rest," Claudia said.

"You want me to leave _now?_," Lulu asked with the slight hysteria of someone who'd had too little sleep.

Claudia opened the door to the room and took Lulu outside.

"I'm family, Claudia. I get to be here," Lulu said.

Claudia stared at Lulu.

"I don't care if you don't like me, Claudia. Jonah likes me. He even said my name yesterday, and --"

"He did?"

"Yeah, and I --" Lulu stopped when she saw Claudia smiling wistfully. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just ... another word. That's good."

Lulu calmed down a little. "Well. Yeah. Nikolas said he also said 'Night' last week."

"I've missed a lot," Claudia said ruefully. She caught Lulu looking at her sympathetically and decided to nip that in the bud. "Look, Lulu, right now I could give a damn whether we get along, or any of that. The reason I don't want you here is because I don't want Jonah to associate you with his chemo."

"Tough."

Unbelievable. All these years later, and Lulu still didn't know enough to not challenge Claudia. "What did you say?"

"Tough," Lulu repeated, although this time she looked a little uncertain.

Claudia sighed. Luke Spencer's and Laura's genes did not mix well, she decided. "Lulu, you're his aunt. You're supposed to spoil him. Make him feel great. Not be the one he associates with feeling sick."

"So what are you saying? I can't be here the whole time he's sick? That's ridiculous."

"Not the whole time. Just today," Claudia said. "You look bad." Better tweak that. "Exhausted. Go visit with Nikolas -- he'll be happy to see you. Then go home and get some real sleep. And then come back and see Jonah again. By then, whatever's going to happen will have happened, and you'll be the cavalry."

Lulu was about to argue when she remembered that she was going to have a bigger battle with Claudia to worry about in a few months. "Okay," she said. "But you'll call me if anything happens, right?"

"We'll call you," Claudia agreed.

"Fine," Lulu said, a little petulantly. She turned her back on Claudia and began walking toward the elevators.

Claudia shook her head and re-entered the room.

'What's under the rock, Mr. Tinsel?" Nadine was apparently fully into her story.

"Mama, mama. Ciao," Jonah called out.

Claudia cracked up. Jonah really didn't like those finger puppets. He wanted to be saved from them. If it had been Spencer in that bed, Nadine would have already been ordered to leave.

She hurried over to his side, taking her earrings off. "Ciao, Jonah." She turned to Nadine. "Thank you. Now get out of the chair."

Nadine looked offended. Good. Claudia's work there was done. Nadine slid out of the chair next to Jonah's bed. Claudia slid into it. She bent over Jonah and kissed his cheek.

"Hey!," she said to Jonah, poking him gently. "What's this I hear about new words? Have you been saying new words?"

"Uh-oh."

Claudia laughed.

Jonah smiled.

"Is it true? Have you been growing up without me?"

"Yes."

Jonah's feet kicked out at the bottom of the bed. Claudia looked down at them. Socks. "Che cosa è questo? Che cosa terribile!" _What's this? How terrible! _Claudia quickly pulled off Jonah's socks, throwing them over her shoulder. Jonah smiled and reached up for Claudia. She bent down close to him. "What is it?"

Jonah pulled her closer and kissed her.

Matt began to wheel the I.V. stand over to Jonah's bedside. Jonah looked at it curiously.

"It's okay, Jonah," Claudia said. She held out the forefinger of her good hand to him. "Hold this." Jonah smiled again, and grabbed her finger. "Buono! Now, if anything feels too strange or hurts you, I want you to _squeeze_ my finger as hard as you can. Can you do that?"

Jonah squeezed her finger. After a moment, Claudia realized he wasn't trying things out. Something was wrong. She repressed a shiver.

"Something's bothering you?," she asked.

"Yes."

"Claudia," Matt said gently.

She looked up at Matt.

"It's the port. It's uncomfortable for the first few days."

Claudia looked at Jonah. "Is that it, Jonah? Is the magic door bothering you?"

"Yes."

"Maybe," she said, "we should just let it get to work then. Okay?"

Jonah nodded his head and then tried to pull himself up. Claudia gently pushed him back down.

"Mama, up."

"No, no," she said. "Stay down, piccolo."

Jonah sighed and settled back down on the bed complacently.

Claudia bent down close to Jonah's ear and whispered, "Why are you so good?" She pulled back and touched the tip of his nose with her fingertip. "Hmmm?"

After a moment, he smiled and shrugged.

Every time Claudia thought she'd figured out how much love hurt, she found out she was capable of loving someone even more. And hurting even more.

She nodded at Matt.

Matt inserted the I.V. into the port. Jonah watched, enraptured by the chemo dripping into the port.

Claudia felt her eyes fill with tears, and blinked rapidly. She'd just let them put poison into her child's body.

* * *

Haunted Star.

Luke poured Laura a cup of coffee and sat down across from her.

"This isn't about you, angel," he said. "It's about me."

"It's about both of us," she said.

He smiled. Laura gave him an odd look. "Sorry," he said. "I just like hearing you say 'us,' no matter what the reason."

"This is terrible, Luke."

"Nothing we can do about it, darlin'. How'd Elvira take it?"

"I don't know," Laura admitted. "And don't call her that. Her son is in the next room," she said in a whisper.

Luke's smile broadened.

"Oh, no," Laura said.

"What?," Luke said innocently.

"Don't do that."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Laura gave him her best stern look. Luke shrugged his shoulders, feigning confusion.

"I'm talking about how you just assume I agree with you," Laura said. "I _like_ Claudia."

Luke made a face of mock horror.

"Grow up," she said.

"And lose my boyish charm? Never."

Laura grew quiet. "I'm only here for a visit, Luke."

"That's okay. Maybe I am too."

Laura laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"You're _always_ only here for a visit. Port Charles is just a convenient pit stop for you."

That shut him up.

"What are we going to do about Lucky?," Laura said, going back to their original subject. They'd been going around and around with it almost all morning.

"He doesn't want to see me when he's like this. And I hate to say it, darlin', but he doesn't much care for you either."

"I know. He's probably been talking to Liz."

"Best thing for him."

"Actually, I'm not so sure about that anymore."

"Why?"

"Because she's with someone else."

"Temporarily," Luke said. "Lucky and Lizzy? That's fate."

Laura didn't bother debating the issue. Too many potential landmines.

"I have an idea," Luke said.

"Does it involve international espionage?"

"Why? You up for that?"

Laura didn't answer, just waited for him to continue.

"I'll attach myself to Mrs. Cassadine. The younger one. Get a feel for what's going on," he stopped, seeing the disapproval on Laura's face. "_And _I can keep an eye on the Blondie in the back while I'm at it."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Luke."

"Why not?"

"Well, for one thing --"

"What's for breakfast?," Spencer said, coming out of the back room.

"I'm so glad you asked that," Luke said, without skipping a beat. "How do you feel about Pop Tarts?"

"Are they like Mommy's apple tarts?"

Luke found himself once again at a loss for words.

"No," Laura said, pulling Spencer up onto her lap. "But they're something your father would never let you have."

"Okay," Spencer said, pulling a clean empty plate toward himself.

* * *

Nikolas' Hospital Room.

Viktor took a small box from Nikolas.

"Thank you, Viktor," Nikolas said. "They already have the instructions, so it shouldn't take more than ten minutes. Then bring it back to me."

"Yes, Mr. Cassadine."

"And don't let Mrs. Cassadine see it."

"No, Mr. Cassadine."

Viktor slipped the box into his pocket.

The door to the room opened, and Lulu peeked inside.

"Can I come in?," she said.

"Of course," Nikolas said. He looked at Viktor. "Thank you."

Viktor left the room as Lulu went to Nikolas' side.

"You look much better," Lulu said, relieved. She hugged him as best as she could.

"Thank you for staying last night," Nikolas said.

"Claudia chased me out of Jonah's room," she said ruefully.

"Last night?"

"Just now. She says she doesn't want Jonah associating me with chemotherapy."

"Did she also say that you look tired and you should get some sleep?"

Lulu wrinkled her nose. "You two have been married too long. You're beginning to sound alike."

"Lulu," Nikolas said, "what happened last night?"

"You'd know better than me. Nobody tells me anything. How'd Anthony shoot you?"

"Lucky was late getting to Crimson Pointe. Claudia thought Anthony had Spencer. I had to go in."

"Alone?"

"Sam was with me, but we separated. Have you ever been in the basement of Crimson Pointe?"

"No."

Nikolas nodded. "When did you find out that I'd been shot?"

"When Claudia woke me up."

"Is that when Lucky arrested her?"

"No. She'd just come back from jail. Her hand was a mess. Did Anthony do that?"

"I'm sorry," Nikolas said. "Did you say that when Claudia came back from jail, her hand wasn't taken care of?"

"She had it in this sort of sling thing made out of a scarf," Lulu said. "I went and got Matt to take care of it."

Nikolas didn't say anything. But he looked furious.

"I asked if she needed a lawyer, but she said Ned was taking care of it."

"The charges were dropped. Early this morning."

"So everything's okay?"

"Not quite."

Nikolas was brooding. It was a little intimidating. "Nikolas. I don't know what's going on with Lucky, but you're going to let him explain, right?"

"Believe me," Nikolas said, "I'll give him all the time he needs to explain. But I doubt he'll say anything to my satisfaction."

"Okay, if I could just interrupt this brooding Gothic thing you've got going on for one second, I'm not sure this is the right time to be getting into a fight with Lucky."

"I didn't choose this, Lulu. He --" Nikolas stopped short. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why isn't this the right time?"

Lulu actually squirmed. "Because...," she began hesitantly, "Claudia's going to hate me soon, and if you cut Lucky off, you won't have any siblings."

"Why is Claudia going to hate you?"

"See, I'm not sure I should tell you. Because you keep telling me that you and Claudia don't keep secrets from each other. And I think I'm the one who should tell her."

"Lulu."

Lulu held her breath, and then let the words tumble out as she exhaled. "I'm going to be with Johnny in two months."

Nikolas absorbed that. And then he looked like he was going to laugh. And considering his sullen demeanor of a minute ago, this should have made Lulu happy, but she felt insulted.

"What? You don't think I can do this?"

"No."

"Then what? You think it's going to be funny when Claudia finds out?"

"Maybe. But that's not what's..." He couldn't help it. He burst out laughing.

"Nikolas!"

"Sorry," he said, barely getting his laughter under control. "I'm sorry. But this could be just what Claudia needs to distract her from Jonah's problems."

"You think I should tell her _now?_"

"No, not now. I'll let you know when. Give you enough time to don some chain mail. Or a flak jacket." He burst out laughing again.

* * *

Jonah's Hospital Room.

Today's dosing was done.

Jonah had let go of Claudia's hand and was sucking his thumb. He hadn't done that since he was six months old.

His eyes closed. And then shot open, checking for Claudia.

"I'm here," Claudia said. "I'm right here."

He took his thumb out of his mouth. "Ped," he said.

"He can't visit yet, but I'll bring him as soon as I can."

She stroked his cheek. Still too warm.

Maybe a year and a half of total safety was more than anyone ever got in childhood. Claudia had no idea how a real childhood worked. Neither did Nikolas. Neither, for that matter, did Spencer.

But they had done a really good job of creating a perfect world out on that Island. Looking around Jonah's hospital room, she saw that Nikolas was still trying. Between her father and the chemo, this was the first chance Claudia had had to see what Nikolas had done for Jonah.

He'd made the hospital room into a home. A home designed especially for Jonah, with animals -- stuffed and otherwise -- everywhere. The rocking horse at the foot of the bed was a palomino, Jonah's favorite kind of horse. Several of Jonah's favorite books filled a small bookcase.

Nikolas was no Sonny, slotting each woman and child into a pre-existing place with the same dress, the same trip to the island and its casino, the same pep talks. Each person was their own person to Nikolas. All this time later and it still took Claudia's breath away. Because even though she teased him about being royalty, and she loved their money, that wasn't what made Nikolas who he was. If you took away the title and the money, and the four of them were stuck living in a tent somewhere, he'd probably build her a stove out of tin cans and sterno. He'd still somehow be looking through her eyes into her soul, giving her exactly what she -- Claudia -- really needed. She loved his mind, and his body, yes, but most of all, Claudia loved Nikolas' heart.

She looked back at Jonah. He yawned.

"What do you say, Jonah? Do you want to go to sleep?"

"No."

"How about a story?"

"No."

Very unlike Jonah. Usually happy to do whatever you wanted him to do. "Are you turning into a Cassadine, Jonah?"

"No." He quickly corrected himself. "Yes."

Claudia smiled. Jonah laughed weakly. Claudia gently placed her fingers at the corners of his mouth and pushed upward. She was rewarded with a smile.

Claudia kissed Jonah's forehead and got up from her chair. "Let's see what Daddy got you. Maybe we can put something in that bed with you. Okay?"

There was a long pause, and then Jonah smiled, weakly. "Yes."

Claudia looked around the room. Spencer's Giacchi was sitting on the counter near the sink. Too hard. Too many edges. Too much potential for bruises.

Batman plate and utensils. She smiled to herself.

She looked down at the rug surrounding the rocking chair, and picked up a teddy bear.

The door to the room opened.

Laura.

"Hi," she whispered. "Can I come in?"

"Of course," Claudia said. "He's awake."

"Oh," Laura said at a normal volume. "Has he...?"

Claudia nodded. "First round." And then she couldn't help herself. "How's Lucky?"

Laura flinched. It was almost imperceptible, but she flinched. "I know there's no excuse, Claudia, but --"

"You left Nikolas to go to Lucky," Claudia interrupted unpleasantly. "I don't understand."

There was an incredibly awkward silence.

Nadine and Matt exchanged a look, and then left the room as unobstrusively as they could.

"Mama," Jonah said, breaking the silence.

Claudia hurried over and gave him the teddy bear. He tried to clutch it to his chest. Claudia quickly moved it to his side. "Over here, piccolo. Don't let it touch the magic door."

Jonah let go of the bear and touched its eyes. He began poking at the bear, curious.

"Monica told me Nikolas would be out for awhile. And that she'd stay with him. I knew you were on your way, Claudia," Laura said. "I would have never left Nikolas alone."

Claudia just looked at Laura as if she could see into her. It was unnerving.

"Lucky -- no matter how wrong he is -- is my son," Laura said. "And he's all alone. He doesn't have a family."

Claudia looked stunned for a moment, but quickly shook it off.

"All right," Claudia said softly.

Her tone reminded Laura of Nikolas.

"I'm worried," Laura said to Claudia. "About all of you."

Claudia looked like she was considering something. And then whatever it was passed. "Culture shock," Claudia said. "Once Jonah's okay, we'll all be fine." Claudia turned to Jonah. "Credo che questo sia un orso russo, Jonah." _I think this is a Russian bear, Jonah._

Laura couldn't put her finger on it. Something was different about Claudia. There was a cautiousness there that hadn't been there since -- well, since the first day they'd met.

Claudia caught Laura staring at her. Claudia smiled and turned her attention back to Jonah.

* * *

Nikolas' Hospital Room.

The acupuncturist had left a few minutes ago. Now he was alone. The painkillers had worn off and his mind was clear. Too many things trying to get his attention at once. Jonah's chemotherapy. Spencer on that boat, vulnerable. Claudia's reaction to her mother's death. And Lucky.

When Nikolas had first come to Port Charles, he'd felt the sting of rejection from all of the Spencers except for Lulu. Somehow, the fact of Nikolas' birth was enough to damn him in Luke and Lucky's eyes. Unwanted. How many times had he been told that he was unwanted? Something he had had in common with Claudia. People had no problem telling either of them that they were unwanted when they were young.

And Lucky had made it clear Claudia was unwanted in his house, hadn't he? Was this the reason? Because he knew he was going to arrest her eventually? And what did he think would happen once he did that? That Nikolas would come to accept it?

Nikolas' heart was pounding fast. His face was flushed in fury. He needed to get himself under control.

He closed his eyes. Tried to imagine he was on a beach. Their beach.

"Nikolas?"

He opened his eyes at the sound of his brother's voice.

"Are you okay?"

Lucky looked genuinely concerned. But Nikolas didn't give a damn. "I'll live."

Lucky felt his heart sink at the implication. Great. Claudia had already poisoned Nikolas' mind. "For what it's worth, I didn't know about the soy."

Suddenly, Lucky had Nikolas' undivided attention. "Oh?," Nikolas said.

"I'm sorry. If I had known, I would have listened to Claudia earlier. But you know how she gets, Nikolas. She hit me. I bet she didn't share that with you."

"What my wife shares or doesn't share with me," said Nikolas, "is none of your concern."

No sign of his brother there, Lucky thought. _Prince_ Nikolas was out in full force.

So Lucky hadn't let Claudia talk to the hospital about the allergy. No wonder she'd hit Lucky. Nikolas decided to press his luck and get more information out of Lucky. "Do you know how close I came to dying?," he asked. He knew Lucky would take it as a rhetorical question, but hopefully he'd get some answers from it. To his credit, Lucky did look horrible.

"Mom told me," Lucky said, looking wrecked. "I keep going over and over it in my head. If I'd let Claudia tell someone before we'd left the house, on the way to the Police Department, even one second sooner than her phone call."

Nikolas was going to kill Claudia for everything she'd left out. He knew enough about the American legal process to know that Claudia had the right to _one_ phone call. And now he knew how she'd used that phone call.

"I know how this looks, Nik, but I didn't plan any of this."

"No?"

"No."

"Then who planned it? Mac? Alexis?"

"No. I don't mean -- I didn't know -- Michael came to me."

"Michael Corinthos."

"Yeah. I know everyone in this town thinks my job is a joke, but it's not. Claudia got a kid shot. That kid has been waiting for justice. Do _you_ want to tell him why she got away with it?"

"I'd be very interested in a conversation with Michael right now."

Lucky didn't like the look in Nikolas' eyes. "What's happened to you, man? There was a time when Claudia Zacchara was everything you hated."

"Cassadine. Her name is Claudia Cassadine. And I've never hated Claudia."

"Maybe not, but you hated everything she stands for. She's a liar. She's a murderer."

Something inside Nikolas snapped. "Where," said Nikolas through gritted teeth, "is your proof? For any of this? You have hated my wife since the day you met her. You have treated her with contempt. Asked me to leave your house so she wouldn't sully it. _Arrested_ her. And why? Because of the small talk of a petty-minded town? Because you can't stand my marriage to someone beneath your supposed moral code?"

"This has nothing to do with her being your wife," Lucky said. "She got a kid shot. Everyone knows that. Believe me, I don't enjoy being the only one doing anything about it."

"This had nothing to do with Claudia being my wife?," Nikolas asked.

"No, Nikolas. I swear it."

It was time, Nikolas decided, for his brother to be held to his own lofty standards. "Then you won't mind if I pursue the matter," Nikolas said. "With your employer. As if it had nothing to do with you being my brother."

"What does that mean?," Lucky said, his temper flaring.

"It means," Nikolas said, his voice rising, "that your department is going to have to answer for what you did. And what you didn't do. Everything will be examined. From the warrant for Claudia's arrest to your refusal to seek medical attention for her."

"What I did, whatever I did, is nothing in comparison to what she's done."

"We'll leave that for the law to decide," Nikolas said coldly.

"God, man, look at yourself," Lucky said, unraveling, becoming more emotional the less emotional Nikolas became. "You're not even yourself. You're like your uncle. Or Helena."

"I am sure you don't want to compare lineages," Nikolas said. "What with your father's stellar background. In fact, this latest bout of half-baked vengeance reeks of him." From the look on Lucky's face, Nikolas knew he had hit the bulls-eye.

"You shut up about my father," Lucky snapped back.

Claudia hurried into the room, alarmed from the sound of raised voices. And then she saw the source. "What the hell are you doing here?," she spat at Lucky.

* * *

Cavallo Territory. Expanse of Woods.

Sam was on her belly, staring across the road.

Anthony had gone into the woods on the other side of the road, and then he'd disappeared. But there was no way out except for the road. And Sam had all the time in the world, now that she knew Nikolas was going to be okay.

"What are you doing?," a familiar voice said from behind her.

"Get down," Sam whispered.

Jason crouched down next to Sam. "What are you doing?," he repeated.

"Waiting for Anthony."

"You followed him here?"

"I followed his trail here."

Jason decided to reason with Sam. "And what happens when he comes out of the woods? If he comes out of the woods."

"I keep following him."

"Alone."

"Unless you want to come along."

"Sam."

"What?"

"Look at me."

Sam turned onto her side and looked up into Jason's eyes. "What?"

"It took me two hours to find you. That's it. Two hours."

"That's because I wanted you to find me. I actually waved into that 7-11 security camera. Spinelli couldn't have missed me even if he went on a bathroom break."

Jason was silent. Sam sat up.

"Look, let's get this over with," Sam said. "Just say what you want to say."

Jason held out a brown bag. "Coffee," he said. "And breakfast."

"Oh. Thanks." Sam grabbed the coffee and pulled off the top. Steam rose up, and the coffee practically woke her up just by the smell of it. Strong. No milk or sugar to interfere with the caffeine. Just the way she liked it.

"Anthony Zacchara hates women," Jason said bluntly.

"Wow. A whole minute and a half before you got there."

"What are you talking about?"

"You telling me what to do."

"I'm not telling you what to do," Jason said. "I'm telling you what the deal is. Anthony Zacchara hates women. If he catches you, he'll kill you."

"You think he can catch me?"

"I think you're stuck with me now."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that until this is over, and you're done with Anthony Zacchara, I'm your Ride or Die Guy."

Sam burst out laughing, and quickly smothered her mouth with her arm. "Okay," she whispered, when she finally composed herself. "Okay."

* * *

Nikolas' Hospital Room.

"I'm here because my brother wanted to see me," Lucky answered.

"Are you serious?," Claudia asked Nikolas.

"Ты думаешь, я бы ничего не делать?," he asked. _Did you think I would do nothing?_

Lucky watched his brother. The man in front of him was cold. Dark. A Cassadine.

"Пока вы были в больнице? Абсолютно," Claudia said. _While you were in the hospital? Absolutely._

Lucky looked at Claudia in surprise. Perfect. Nikolas had the perfect Cassadine wife. Complete with Russian fluency. And homicidal tendencies.

"Вы знаете, мне лучше, чем это," Nikolas said. _You know me better than that._

"Вы сказали, что мы рассматривали бы все вместе." _You said we would handle everything together._

"Да. А я думала, что вы согласились. Но мы не были вместе на всех." _Yes. And I thought that's what you agreed to. But we weren't together at all._

Claudia looked at Lucky suspiciously, and then asked Nikolas, "Почему?" _Why?_

"Потому что ты солгал мне." _Because you lied to me._

Claudia's eyes filled with tears. Nikolas realized she thought he'd taken Lucky's word over hers.

Nikolas quickly clarified, "Вы лгали бездействия." _You lied by omission._

Claudia shook her head, confused, and then waved her hand, giving him the floor.

"Почему ты не сказал мне об анестезии? Ваше один телефонный звонок? Или как он не возьмет вас в больницу для ваших руках?" _Why didn't you tell me about the anesthetic? Your one phone call? Or how he would not take you to the hospital for your hand?_

"Потому что В последний раз вы были расстреляны, у вас был инсульт," she said, insistently, overlapping his last few words. _Because the last time you were shot, you had a stroke._

"Я не собираюсь иметь инсульт," he scoffed. _I'm not going to have a stroke._

"Я так рада, что ваше эго достиг, наконец, Бог, как пропорции," she shot back, her voice shaking, betraying her emotions. _I'm so glad that your ego has finally reached God-like proportions._

Claudia had been staring at him the whole time, pointedly avoiding Lucky, who looked like he was watching a tennis match. All of a sudden, it hit Nikolas. Claudia was at her breaking point. She'd lost her mother. They could be losing their son. He remembered how she looked when he was shot. Terrified. He didn't want to think about what was going through her mind when Lucky wouldn't let her talk to the hospital. When she must have thought she was going to lose her husband. Right now, it was taking everything she had not to break in front of Lucky. Nikolas was ashamed of himself.

"Мне очень жаль," he said softly. _I'm sorry._ He turned to Lucky. "I've heard all I care to hear, and I've said all I care to say. I'd appreciate it if you'd leave now."

Lucky looked from Nikolas to Claudia, his eyes full of suspicion. He looked back at Nikolas. "Fine," Lucky said. "But we're not done. I'm not one of your servants. You can't fire a brother."

Lucky left the room. The door shut behind him.

"I can't get up," Nikolas said to Claudia. "Please come to me."

She held back for a moment, and then went to his side.

He took her hand.

"What are you doing?," she said, looking shaken. "You're still weak."

"Nothing is going to happen to me," he said. "I'm just making sure that nothing happens to you either."

"By taking a bullet?," she asked rhetorically. "By raising your blood pressure? Keep this up, and we won't have to worry about our enemies getting to me. Because if you keep putting yourself in danger, I'm going to have a heart attack."

"This from the woman who broke her own hand." He knew he'd won when she narrowed her eyes at him and didn't answer. He brushed his thumb over the back of her hand. "This isn't the first time you've kept something from me," he said softly. She opened her mouth to argue, but before she could, he added, "And sometimes, it's been because I've wanted you to. Like with Spencer's puppy."

Claudia inhaled sharply.

"I know you by heart, Claudia. You've never been good at lying to me."

"Are you sure?," Claudia asked, more than a little defensively.

"Do you want to tell me what Ric did in Greece?," Nikolas said, making his point a little unkindly.

"Why should I?," Claudia snapped at him. "We both know what happened the last time I told you about Ric." She saw the look on his face, and immediately regretted saying it. Claudia was silent for a moment. And then she said quietly, "Spencer has a big mouth."

"Someone in this family has to."

"I know." She looked up at him again, distraught. "Spencer believed I was going to leave him to go with Ric. I've never seen him like that before. Ever. Not even when Helena... We had to leave, even if it meant risking the baby. I didn't know what else to do." She turned away from him.

He put his hand against her cheek and turned her face toward him. "You did the right thing."

She shook her head.

"Yes. You did the only thing you could do."

There was a knock on the door. Viktor entered, carrying the small box Nikolas had given to him. He returned it to Nikolas, along with an envelope.

"Thank you," Nikolas said, putting the envelope on the table by his bed.

Viktor left the room.

"You have to come closer to me," Nikolas said to Claudia.

Claudia leaned closer to him.

"Closer."

She climbed up on the bed next to him. "Close enough?," she asked him.

Nikolas opened the box. He drew out a beautiful chain of woven platinum. Claudia's engagement and wedding rings were hanging from it.

Her face softened. "Nikolas."

He put the necklace around her neck. "That's the last time you take these off."

She hugged him tightly.

He pulled back and kissed her. He pulled back again and looked into her eyes. "Hi."

"Hi."

"How's Jonah?"

She shook her head. Nikolas' heart sank. "What happened after you left Greece?," Claudia asked, almost as if she were afraid of the answer.

Nikolas swallowed hard. "It's been taking over his body quickly. If you hadn't caught it when you did..." Nikolas' voice trailed off.

Claudia took his hand in hers again and squeezed it. "He just looks so weak," she said. "And he's not himself."

"In a way," Nikolas said gently, "it will help that he's so weak. The chemo should be able to work more quickly."

She tilted her head at him. "Liar," she said tenderly. She took a deep breath. "He's had the first round. I think it knocked him out. He's sleeping. Your mother's with him." She looked away from him, smooth as honey.

Here we go again, Nikolas thought. "What are you keeping from me?"

She looked back at him, caught. "Nothing." He kept looking at her, evenly. She shook her head. "No, Nikolas. I don't even know if it's something."

"Claudia."

Damn him. She swallowed hard. "When I came here early this morning -- when you were still unconscious -- your mother had left you to go to Lucky. She made sure Monica was with you," she added quickly. But not quickly enough, apparently.

Nikolas was silent. He saw Claudia's eyes start to fill with tears in sympathy.

"It's probably nothing," Nikolas said. Now Claudia looked at Nikolas, staring evenly at him. "She doesn't know," he said. "My mother doesn't look at the world the way we do. Her mother --"

"I know," Claudia said. Nikolas and Claudia's mothers had left them. Maybe not gladly, but they'd given their children up. Laura's mother had come looking for her. "You almost died, Nikolas. And Lucky was what? Upset? I don't know, maybe it's just me -- I mean, I've been told I have a warped view of the world -- sometimes by my husband -- but I think 'near-death' takes precedence over 'upset' in anyone's world view."

Nikolas couldn't help it. He laughed. There was something about someone who shared your feelings so completely that made almost anything bearable. Claudia, just by the way she understood him, made things that once might have made him bitter into an absurd comedy for him.

He pulled her to him once again. Kissed her cheek. Pulled back and looked her in the eye. "Let me handle it," he said.

"Nikolas, I don't want you to --"

"I don't want you getting in the way of your own relationship with my mother."

She didn't answer at first, but then nodded in agreement. "That might be a little difficult, though. I was really rude to your mother back there. I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about."

"Jumped right in there with the accusations," she said. "After she saved my life. Everything she did for us --"

"Hey," he said, putting his fingers over her mouth, silencing her. "We'll figure it out."

"Nikolas," she said through his fingers. "Unless you're planning on doing something sensual, I suggest you remove your fingers from my mouth."

He quickly took his hand away, feigning terror. She laughed.

He smiled at her. "I'm going to a little overbearing now," he said.

"Shocking. Something new and different to tell the grandchildren about some day."

"I think you should get some sleep."

"They're setting up a cot for me in Jonah's room."

"No, I mean I think you should go get Spencer, take him home and get some real sleep."

"No."

"I'll be with Jonah the whole time. I promise."

"I can't leave him. I have to be there when he wakes up."

He brushed his hand through her hair. Kissed her forehead. "If everything goes well, we'll only have to be here for a few weeks. And then we'll go back to the Island. But in the meantime, we need to make a home for Jonah and Spencer here. One that's safe from everyone but us. I can't do it from here. I need you to do it. And I need you to be rested so that Jonah doesn't get scared. I need you to go home, and make it a home."

"Go home. To Lucky."

"We have our own place. Actually, it's your place. But this time, I'm not your guest."

He smiled watching Claudia put it together. "You," she said, "are the most romantic person I've ever met. I can't believe you haven't been warped by my cynicism yet."

"Will you do it?"

She shook her head.

"What's wrong?"

"Please. Please don't make me leave."

"That's not what I'm doing."

"Everybody makes me leave. And the people I leave -- they don't understand. Jonah won't understand."

He grabbed her and pulled her into him. He kissed the side of her head. "I'm not -- I swear I'm not making you leave. I'm going to move into Jonah's room. If he needs you, I'll call you -- I promise. But he's going to sleep now. Trust me, he's very tired lately. If he wakes up, I'll be there. If he wakes up and wants you, I'll call you. But Spencer needs you too."

"I know."

"I told him you were with your father. He's going to want to see for himself that you're okay."

"You what?"

"He asked a direct question."

"We need a new family rule," Claudia muttered.

"The rule is fine."

"I got through my whole life lying," Claudia snapped. "Now I can't even lie by omission. This is ridiculous. Do you know how hard this is for me?"

"I know."

"No, you don't. Telling the truth comes naturally to you. I'm a freak of nature."

"All right. Lie to me."

"What?"

"Get it all out. Tell me as many lies as you can. You have one minute."

Claudia looked at him as if he were dressed as Santa Claus and he might be about to tell her that Christmas didn't exist. "Really?"

"Fifty seconds."

"My first name is Susan. I was born in Lebanon." The first two lies were half-hearted. But then she began to pick up steam. "I love Nadine Crowell's finger puppets. That food tray over there just insulted me. What Mafia? I'm a natural blonde. Go Red Sox. Your aunt is the most charming person I've ever met. Seven years ago, my pig took first place in Wyoming. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see your sister married to my brother." She stopped when she saw the look on his face. "Time's up?"

Nikolas covered. "Yes. Feel better?"

"We've barely scratched the surface. Do you see how much you're wasting my potential?"

"Yes, I can see where you'd miss lying about pig contests."

Claudia laughed. Then her eyes softened. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. The acupuncturist came." He smiled at her and then pulled her into another kiss. "You," he said, "are an excellent wife. I'm not lying, by the way. See the benefits?"

"Yes. Give me some more truths."

"Jonah and I are going to be fine," he said, not missing a beat. "You've made everything perfect for us. As soon as I'm settled in with Jonah, we'll wake him up so you can tell him you're going and that you will be back. And then you'll go to the Haunted Star, get Spencer, go home, and get some sleep. We'll be here for you in the morning. Okay?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. Then she smiled. "Yes, Master Nikolas."

* * *

Port Charles Harbor. Racing Yacht.

Luke had taken her for a fool. The flash of blond Helena had seen had been much closer to the ground than the head of a full-grown woman would have been. Unless Laura had taken to crawling around on her hands and knees.

So the boy was blond now. Interesting. Useful.

Helena was running out of time. She needed to strike while her grandson's family was off-balance. While the youngest boy was still in the hospital -- or at the very least, sick.

Nikolas was a lost cause. He was too dreamy, too intent on living his life like a fairytale prince. Her last encounter with Spencer had her worried. Back when Claudia had captured her, and Nikolas had secreted her away in the Wyndemere basement. When she'd escaped and found Spencer in the library, he'd been almost mute. And he hadn't moved much either. He was turning into another Nikolas. For all Helena knew, the child was making friends with the scullery maid's daughter right now, sealing his fate as Cinderella's lapdog twenty years hence. Unacceptable.

Helena was at an impasse. Time to test the waters.


	15. Chapter 15

General Hospital. Jonah's Room.

It was almost noon by the time Nikolas was moved up to Jonah's room. They'd set Nikolas' bed up right next to Jonah's. Nikolas insisted that he be placed literally within arm's length of Jonah. The placement of the bed wasn't what had Claudia concerned.

"I'm not _that_ picky," Nikolas argued with Claudia.

"Yes, you are," she said. "But right now I'm more worried about your Prince and the Pea Complex."

Laura laughed.

"You're not going to be able to sleep like this," Claudia said.

"I'll be fine."

Claudia ignored him as she eyed his bed the way she'd once eyed Laura's kitchen in Beecher's Corners. Laura suspected that Jonah's room was about to undergo another makeover.

The door to the room opened and two men carrying file boxes came inside.

"Over there," Claudia said, pointing to the table on the other side of Nikolas' bed.

Nikolas looked at Claudia. "What is this?"

"These," she said, "are distractions. You've got your advanced wave technology files in one box and your later novels of Charles Dickens in the other."

Nikolas grumbled something nearly unintelligible, but with a derisive tone no one could miss. The word "Dickens" was in there.

"Hey," Claudia said. "When I was laid up at Spoondymere, that's what you tossed at me." She looked around for her purse and then realized she didn't have one. Viktor came to her rescue with some ten dollar bills, and Claudia tipped the delivery men.

After the delivery men left, Claudia turned to Viktor. "Do we have an extra man on who can run an errand?," she asked.

"Yes, Mrs. Cassadine."

"I left my rental car in the parking lot yesterday. It's the blue Volkswagen Jetta in section 4C. With any luck, my purse is still in the front seat. My father took my car keys away, but if someone could get inside the car --"

"Yes, Mrs. Cassadine."

"And be careful. I don't know what my father did to the car after he got me away from it."

Laura felt a chill when Claudia said that.

"Yes, Mrs. Cassadine," Viktor answered.

"Thank you, Viktor."

Viktor left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Claudia hopped up on Nikolas' bed, peering down at Jonah. Nikolas put his hand on her back.

"Johnny wants you to put a notice on something called Craigslist," Nikolas said. "To let him know what's going on."

Nikolas saw the beginnings of a smile on her lips. "That's sweet," she said.

"He's worried."

"Well, yeah, that too. But I'm talking about the way you're pretending not to know what Craigslist is just to get me to smile."

Nikolas rubbed her back. "The Catskills Craigslist. Tonight, when it's Tuesday in Greece. Under Childcare."

"Okay," Claudia said.

Nadine entered the room.

Nikolas felt Claudia's back muscles tense up. He struggled to get up_._

Feeling him move behind her, Claudia turned to him, alarmed. When she saw him trying to sit up, she held out her hand to him. "Here," she said, helping him up to a sitting position. Just like she had the night he'd been thrown from Sheba. They caught each other's eye and smiled, both remembering.

She plumped a pillow and leaned it against the back of the bed. Then she slowly helped him move so that he was leaning against the pillow. When she finally faced him again, she saw that he was gazing at her tenderly. Sometimes she thought that Nikolas was mistaking her for someone else. Like Snow White or something.

He put his hand against her cheek. She leaned into his hand. Then he suddenly pulled away, searching the table by his bed. "I almost forgot," he said, picking up the envelope Viktor had given him earlier that morning. "This is for you."

She glanced down at the envelope, confused. "What..." She took the envelope and opened it. Inside was a license and registration for a handgun. Claudia didn't say anything, but her face fell.

"Claudia?" Nikolas' voice was full of concern.

Claudia quickly looked at Nadine and Laura, and then back at Nikolas. "Thank you," she said.

Nikolas didn't like this. Something was wrong and he couldn't find out what it was with everyone in the room like this.

"Mama," Jonah said, waking up.

"Right here," Claudia said, bending down toward him. "And look who else is here."

Nikolas peered out from behind Claudia and waved to Jonah.

Jonah smiled. And shivered.

"Are you cold, Jonah?," Laura asked.

Claudia pulled up Jonah's blanket to cover his body.

He reached up toward Claudia, grabbing on to her shirt, and she bent down to him. "What is it, baby?"

"Mama," Jonah said. "No more."

Nikolas' heart sank. Claudia was quiet. Then she said, "I know. You've been such a good boy. And I wish we could stop. But I'm so sorry, piccolo. We can't."

"But you're done for today," Nikolas said.

"Nikolas," Nadine said, as she approached Jonah with an ear thermometer. Claudia glared at her.

"Once Nurse Nadine is done sticking that thing in your ear," Claudia said to Jonah, "no one else is going to poke you today."

Nadine took Jonah's temperature. Claudia glanced at the thermometer. 99 degrees.

"Nothing to worry about," Nadine said. "But we'll keep an eye on it."

"'We' will? Who's 'we'?" Claudia muttered.

"Uh-oh," Jonah said to Nikolas.

Laura quickly interceded. "Nurse Crowell, would you mind answering some questions for me?"

_"Nurse Crowell," _Nadine thought. _We're a long way from that pep talk in Lucky's house._ "Not at all," she said.

Laura gestured to the other side of the room. She and Nadine conferred in the corner.

Nikolas squeezed Claudia's shoulder.

"Don't rush me," Claudia said.

"I'm not," Nikolas said.

Claudia smiled at Jonah, and stroked his cheek. She realized she'd been holding her breath and let it out. She wasn't ready, but she never would be, so she just plunged into it. "Piccolo, I have to go home now."

"No," Jonah said.

"I'm sorry, baby, but I do. But I'll be back tomorrow, and I'll be bringing a surprise guest with me."

Jonah lit up. "Ped?"

"I think you just ruined Mommy's surprise, Jonah," Nikolas said.

"Mama?"

"Oh, all right, yes, it's your friend Pedro."

Jonah's eyes widened.

"I also think your Mommy likes getting in trouble with your brother," Nikolas said.

"Just a little," Claudia said, smiling. She brushed Jonah's hair away from his face. "Daddy's going to be staying in here with you. Is that okay?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure? Because Daddy snores at night."

"I do not," Nikolas said.

"How would you know?," Claudia said to Nikolas. "How would he know?," she asked Jonah.

Jonah shrugged, smiling, and reached out to grab his own feet with his hands.

Claudia leaned closer to Jonah. "I love you, Jonah. And I'll be back in the morning." She kissed his forehead. "Don't grow up too much without me while I'm gone."

"Mama," Jonah said. "Ciao."

She hated leaving them like this. She knew she needed to see Spencer. She knew she needed to get some rest for the baby. But she hated leaving them like this. "Ciao," Claudia said. As she pulled away, Jonah pulled her back to him and kissed her. "Thank you, baby." She sat up straight, and turned to Nikolas, kissing him good-bye. He pulled her into a hug.

"Be careful," he said, when they pulled back. "Take a guard."

"Okay," she said, looking back down at Jonah. "But you keep Viktor."

Nikolas looked like he wanted to argue, but Claudia hopped off the bed and hurried to the door.

"Claudia!," he called after her.

She turned back to him.

"The phone line at the guest house is secure. So is this one," he said, pointing to the bedside hospital phone.

"Okay," she said, looking a little less tense. She left the room. Laura followed her outside.

Nikolas looked down at Jonah. "It's just you and me, piccolo. Let's see how much trouble we can get into."

Jonah smiled, but closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

* * *

General Hospital. Hallway.

Laura finished making notes on a piece of paper. She folded up the paper and tucked it into her jacket pocket.

"Thanks, Laura," Claudia said. "They'll both appreciate it."

"I thought so. I've been stuck here before, too."

"I know the feeling. You know, Nikolas did the same thing for me right before we got involved with each other. It must run in the family."

"Maybe," Laura said. "Claudia, I'm sorry about last night."

Claudia was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "You should talk to Nikolas. He made me tell him."

Viktor came up the hallway, followed by another guard, who was carrying Claudia's purse. "This is Vladimir," Viktor said.

"Another 'V' name," Claudia mused. "That bodes well." She took her purse.

Viktor coughed.

Claudia looked at him quizzically.

"About the other matter. In the envelope."

"Yes," said Claudia.

"It will be waiting on Front Street. At the store."

Laura watched Claudia brood a little.

"Vladimir will be guarding you," Viktor said.

Claudia was suddenly present again. "Thank you," she said to Viktor. She turned to Laura. "Do you know where Leslie took my friend? Talia?" _ Friend. _Still felt wrong coming out of her mouth.

"No."

"Eighth floor," Viktor said. "Room 843."

Claudia looked at Viktor in surprise. "We really keep you on your toes, don't we, Viktor?"

"Yes, Mrs. Cassadine."

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said to Laura. Then she turned to her new guard. "Come on, Vlad. Can I call you Vlad?"

* * *

General Hospital. Talia's Hospital Room.

Leslie made some notes on Talia's chart. Then she handed the chart and two vials of blood to a lab technician. Claudia passed the lab technician on her way into the room.

"How is she?," Claudia said.

"Helena was a lot trickier this time. We have to go slowly, or your friend will suffer brain damage."

"But if you do go slowly, she'll be okay?"

"I think so. Nothing's guaranteed, but I'd take that bet." Leslie looked Claudia over. "You two kids are going through more than anyone should have to. How are you holding up? How's Nikolas?"

"I'm fine. Nikolas is as stubborn as ever."

"How's Jonah?," Leslie asked.

"The first round of chemo is done," Claudia answered. "He's very tired." Claudia took a seat by Talia's bedside.

"If you look at her wrists, it looks like she put up a struggle," Leslie said.

Sure enough, there were faded bruises on Talia's wrists. Talia's husband Giorgios had said that Talia had heard noises from Alex's room and gone to check on him. That was the last anyone had seen of Talia in Greece.

Talia had kept Claudia's secrets. So Claudia had had to explain everything to Giorgios. About her father. About Helena. Giorgios hadn't been angry, just frightened. For Talia.

But Claudia knew better. As horrific as all of this was, for once Claudia was grateful that Anthony thought she was incapable of love. Had Talia encountered Anthony instead of Helena, and had Anthony known that Claudia cared, Talia would have been dead by now.

Claudia looked at Leslie. "Her husband will be here soon, along with a translator." Claudia looked up at Leslie. "Could I...?"

"Of course." Leslie adjusted Talia's I.V., checked the heart monitor, and then left the room.

Claudia stared at Talia. "Talia," she said softly. She hesitated, and then continued in Greek. "It's Claudia. I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm here."

_"Let me throw you a bone. Right before I shot her, do you want to know what happened?"_

Claudia shook her head, banishing her father's voice.

"Giorgios is on his way. Alex is safe. And you're going to be fine."

Talia remained still, eyes unseeing. But Michael had heard her, hadn't he?

"You know, I know you don't believe me whenever I say this, but I never had a friend before you. That first day you came to the island, when you gave me the necklace -- after you left, I told Nikolas about your visit. I didn't understand it. I thought maybe you thought I was some kind of Godfather, and you were paying your respects or something. I thought you wanted something. Nikolas laughed at me. He said you wanted to be my friend."

Claudia coughed a little. She straightened Talia's blanket, looking away from Talia's eyes.

"Nikolas didn't have any friends growing up either," she said, as if she were just telling a story. "But later, when he came here, to Port Charles, he did. He told me it was okay to have a friend. He encouraged me to try it. Like it was -- I don't know -- some new adventure or yearned-for journey. You know Nikolas," she said, looking at Talia, falling back into their friendship as if both of them were truly there. "Romantic to the core. Suspicious romantic, but still. Romantic. And you know me. I can't resist him. That's when I invited you over for lunch. You and Alex. I was sort of begrudgingly trying out the friendship thing. I'd been told a lot that it wouldn't work for me, so I didn't have high hopes. I was a little ticked at Nikolas for not being there. He's always much better with strangers than I am. A little too formal, but less scary. Okay, so maybe not for you, but for most people."

The Island seemed like such a long time ago. But she still remembered the table cloth she'd used for that first lunch with Talia. Crocheted. Indestructible. Safe from the whims of two little boys.

"Do you remember how I tried to serve lunch by myself? When it took so long, I thought the whole thing was a bust until you told me to take off my shoes. If you could talk right now, you'd tell me I'm crazy, but that was the moment when I knew we would be friends." Claudia laughed softly. "You looked so exasperated. Started in on that weird monologue about high heels and crazy Americans and crazy Italians, taking off your own shoes and starting to bring stuff in from the kitchen. 'Smart enough to rid the town of evil, but too dumb to know when she should be barefoot.' That was the highlight for me."

Claudia grew quiet and serious. "I want you to know that whatever happens, what you gave me this year was more than enough. And I know --" Claudia broke off as the door to the room opened.

Giorgios entered, followed by a tall, thin bearded man. The translator.

"Giorgios," Claudia said, rising.

"Πώς είναι η γυναίκα μου;," Talia's husband asked. _ How is she?_

"Αυτή θα είναι εντάξει. Αλλά δεν θα ξυπνήσει για λίγο." _She's going to be okay. But she won't wake up for awhile. _

Claudia moved away from the bed, and Giorgios sat down next to his wife. He looked into her eyes. "Talia," he said. No response. He turned to Claudia. "Τι συνέβη;" _What happened?_

"Της ήταν υπό την επήρεια ναρκωτικών. Αλλά είναι τρόπος εργασίας του από το σύστημά της." Claudia answered. _She's been drugged. But it's working its way out of her system._

Leslie came in the room.

"Αυτός είναι ο γιατρός. Δρ Webber. Μπορεί να σας βοηθήσει τώρα.," Claudia said. _This is the doctor. Dr. Webber. She can help you now._

Giorgios rose.

"Leslie, this is Talia's husband, Giorgios Petrides."

The translator translated what Claudia said into Greek for Giorgios.

"Giorgios," Claudia said, writing a phone number on a piece of paper. "Πρέπει να πάω να Spencer τώρα. Αν με χρειαστείς, καλέσετε αυτό τον αριθμό τηλεφώνου. Αν χρειάζεστε κάτι αμέσως, Νικόλας είναι στο δωμάτιο του νοσοκομείου Jonah. Δρ Webber θα σας πει πώς να το βρείτε." _I need to go to Spencer now. If you need me, call this phone number. If you need anything right away, Nikolas is in Jonah's hospital room. Dr. Webber can tell you how to find it._

As Giorgios took the paper from Claudia, he noticed her broken hand. "Τι συνέβη;" _What happened to you?_

"Είναι ασήμαντο." _ It's unimportant._ She looked into Giorgios' eyes. "Είμαι τόσο θλιβερό. Θα έδινα τίποτα αν θα μπορούσε να είχε αποτρέψει αυτό που συνέβη στην Talia." _ I'm so sorry. I would give anything if I could have prevented what happened to Talia._

He nodded.

Claudia left the room.

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Room.

Nikolas closed the advanced wave technology file. Claudia had miscalculated how much he could be distracted. If it wasn't related to a family member, Nikolas' mind couldn't seem to concentrate on it.

He'd already taken preliminary steps with the Port Charles Police Department. Mayor Floyd's office had been trying to reach him ever since, but Nikolas wanted to maximize the pressure his brother was under, so he hadn't returned any phone calls yet.

He slowly lowered himself back down on the bed.

Jonah was still sleeping.

Something had happened to Claudia while she was with her father. And knowing Anthony's usual weapon of choice where Claudia was concerned, Nikolas was almost certain that Anthony had said something to Claudia. Got into her head again. That had to be it. If something had happened to Claudia in Greece, if she'd been fading out of conversations, Spencer would have been sure to mention it to Nikolas. Because even if she'd put it indelicately, Claudia was right: Spencer was always a little too forthcoming with information.

Claudia was so fragile right now that the least little thing would probably break her. So he'd wait to press her.

Viktor opened the door to the room. "Alexis Davis," he said, ushering in Alexis.

"I don't understand," Alexis said to Nikolas without any preamble.

Nikolas nodded to Viktor and Viktor left the room. "Clearly, you feel that indiscretion is the better part of valor today," Nikolas said.

"Sorry. Sorry. But frankly, I think you're insane."

"I take it that this is pursuant to my lawsuit against the Port Charles Police Department."

"Yes. And stop speaking like a legal brief."

NIkolas sighed.

"Let's forget for a moment that you are in fact suing your brother. That your lawsuit is likely to result in his unemployment -- which, I grant you, he may deserve. Forgetting all that, what happened the last time you were shot?"

"Oh, not you too."

"So others have been bringing the stroke risk to your attention. Good. With any luck, maybe there'll be a line outside your door by the time I leave. If your wife had any sense, she'd be making you drop this at least until you were better." Alexis studied Nikolas. He didn't think he'd betrayed anything, but a look of realization slowly spread over Alexis' face. "Good God, she doesn't know."

"No, she doesn't. And you will not tell her. You will let me tell her."

Alexis stared at him. "She's the one, isn't she? She's the one who's worried about you having a stroke."

"She's being ridiculous."

"Nikolas," Alexis said, lowering her voice, mindful of Jonah, and dragging a chair over to his bedside. "Has it occurred to you that this is a very, very bad time to pile up another crisis on top of the ones you already have?"

"Do you need a paper bag?"

"Stop that. Battling the PCPD while you need their help is irrational, to say the least."

Nikolas' eyes darkened. "'Need their help?' Where were they when my wife was breaking her own hand to escape her father's handcuffs?"

Alexis practically recoiled at his words. She had tried to get to the police file about the events at Crimson Pointe, but it had been confiscated by the F.B.I. and Interpol before anyone had gotten a good look at it.

"Where were they when a gunman tried to kidnap my child from his hospital room?"

"Nikolas, Lucky went off on his own. Mac is doing everything he can to --"

"It's not enough," Nikolas said abruptly. "Whatever the PCPD is capable of is not enough. And when the results of their fine work end with my wife in jail and her father headed for parts unknown, I'd say they're actually working against us."

"Okay," she said. "Fine. So you have a very big, justified bone to pick with the police department. Big enough to risk losing your life?"

"I will be fine. And I will do what I have to do to protect my family."

"Okay, I get it -- you don't care what happens to you. You die, you get to be with Emily, you go off a hero."

Nikolas shook his head.

"What about Claudia?," Alexis asked.

"She's as furious as I am."

"That's not what I mean." Alexis had had years of practice with Stefan. Nikolas was not getting out of this conversation. Right now, her mind had fixed on another angle. "What about Spencer? What about Jonah? If something happens to you, what happens to the boys? I'm not talking about their inheritance or the Cassadine legacy, I'm talking about those boys. You know what it's like to grow up without a father. And you and Claudia both know what it's like to grow up without a mother."

"Nothing will happen to me. And nothing will happen to Claudia."

"Really? Well, let's just say for a moment that the impossible happens. What do you think will happen to Claudia without you?"

"We've already seen what will happen. Lucky doesn't have enough evidence to press criminal charges."

"I'm not talking about criminal charges. I'm talking about the fact that before she was with you, there were times when Claudia bordered on being a sociopath -- don't interrupt me, I know you disagree. You know one Claudia, and I know another. And guess what? Neither one of us knows what Claudia's grieving process is like. Because she's never been in love before, so she's never had to lose love." Alexis was about to continue with her "Your Wife was Psychotic Before She Loved You/What Do You Think She'll Be Like After You" lecture when she noticed panic in Nikolas' eyes. "Good," she said. "I'm getting through to you."

But that wasn't what was happening with Nikolas at all. Claudia had already lost someone she loved. Her mother. And she'd found out about it while she was with Anthony. Anthony wouldn't have left it at that. He would have found some weakness within Claudia to exploit. What had Anthony said to Claudia?

* * *

Haunted Star.

Claudia left the guard outside. There'd be time enough for that later.

This place had seen better days. And her stomach was not dealing well with the stale smell of cigar smoke.

It was quiet. So quiet she couldn't believe Spencer was there. Maybe he'd been moved.

"Hello?," she called out.

There was exactly one second of silence. And then

"Claudee!"

Spencer shot out of the back room, barreling towards her. She dropped to her knees, using her good arm to gather him to her, as she realized that a small part of her hadn't believed he was safe until she saw him. She felt like she was going to collapse in relief.

"I used pretend crutches, and played Robin on the bed, and Daddy said you were with your daddy, and I saw Helena."

Claudia jerked back to look at him. "You _what_?"

Spencer took a step back from her, alarmed at her expression.

"The kid peeked from the back room," Luke said, slouching in the doorway to the back room. "He's a pistol. She didn't see him."

"She's so _small_."

Claudia could barely take in what he was saying. He was right there, right there in front of her, safe. She felt tears threatening, and she pulled him into a hug so he wouldn't see them.

"What happened to your hand?," Spencer said, his voice half-smothered in her embrace.

"That's a story for when you're older," Claudia said.

"We have a rule," Spencer said.

"Yes, we do," Claudia said. "But I'm really tired, and I want to take you home and talk to you about your brother. Everything else can wait."

"We're going home?," Spencer asked, confused.

"Well, sort of. We're going to Spoon Island. We're staying in the little house. My house."

"Score!," Spencer said.

That was a new word. Claudia eyed Luke suspiciously.

"Why don't you go in the back, princeling?," Luke said to Spencer. "Pack up the little you have, and then we'll head over to --"

"I'm sorry," Claudia said. "Did you say 'we'?"

Spencer looked from Luke to Claudia. "Mommy?"

Claudia turned her attention to Spencer. "I'll pack you up in a minute, amico. Let me talk to ... _Grandpa_ Luke first."

Spencer was about to argue when he saw the expression on Claudia's face. Whenever she got that expression, even Nikolas was a little afraid to argue with her. And Spencer couldn't come up with a way to make Claudia laugh at the moment. He reluctantly went into the back room.

"I'm coming with you," Luke said. "Wheresoever you may go."

"Over my dead body," Claudia said.

Luke took out a cigar.

"And I promise to light that for you. Over your dead body," Claudia said, reaching under her skirt.

Luke lowered the cigar, unlit. "Is that a pistol in your panties, or are you just happy to see me?"

"Light up and find out."

Luke tucked the cigar back into his shirt pocket.

Claudia smoothed her skirt back down.

"You can pose for the cover of 'Guns and Ammo,' darlin', but I'm still going to be your shadow anywhere outside of that hospital."

"Let me guess. This is about Lucky."

"No. But I like seeing the gears upstairs turn around in your head. Let me give you some more to think about. How many times have you bested Helena?"

Claudia stared evenly at Luke before answering, "Twice. And the second time she sent forty men."

"Was that back when you had two hands? Next question. How many times has she bested you?"

Claudia didn't answer.

"See now, sweet cheeks, I don't have the digits to count the number of times I've come out on top."

"So you want to protect me," Claudia said, sarcastically. "How cool, Daddy-O," she added, mocking Luke's vocabulary.

"Don't be such a skeptic, princess. I want to protect the boy. My wife's fond of him."

"Ex-wife."

Luke leaned in to Claudia and whispered in her ear. "People like you and me, we don't deserve the people who love us. But we know better than anyone else what that love is worth. Wait until you lose the prince. See how hard you fight to get him back. See how hard it is stop calling him your husband." Luke leaned away and looked Claudia in the eyes.

But Claudia wasn't there. Something was off. And then, suddenly, her eyes focused. Luke was looking right into her.

He resumed talking at his normal volume. "Besides. I kinda like the lad myself."

Claudia walked past Luke, over to the bar. She hopped up on a barstool.

Luke went behind the counter. "Pick your poison, princess."

"Nothing for me, thanks. But why don't you knock something back? Isn't that what you do best these days?"

"Is that it? You think I'm broken down and rusty?"

"Are you saying you're not?"

"I'm saying that there are two men outside watching this boat. One of them is yours. The other ... is not. I'm saying that your father and Helena have split up. I don't know if that's temporary. But I do know that while you've been running back and forth between the police station, the hospital and your daddy's house, I've gotten a better lay of the land than you. Now we can do this nice and easy. Or we can get rough. But I'm not letting either of you out of my sight while Helena's loose."

Claudia couldn't tell whether Luke was telling the truth or not. The man would probably hand her over to Helena in a heartbeat if it meant protecting his own. But he was tied to Laura. And Laura loved Spencer. Which meant that Spencer was one of Luke's own. And Claudia could live with that. Until she figured out what Luke was really up to.

"Okay," she allowed. "But my husband and I are going to have a talk about this tomorrow. And it will be up to him from then on."

Luke smiled. "Fair enough." He put Claudia's gun up on the counter. "You can have this back."

Claudia reached for her thigh holster. Empty.

"Some people play piano. This is what I do," Luke said, shrugging.

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Hospital Room.

Nikolas was ready to be done with his hospital bed. He sat up.

"Oh," a tiny voice said from the bed beside his.

Nikolas turned to find Jonah awake. "Ciao, piccolo." Nikolas raised a conspiratorial eyebrow. "Are you up for some mischief?"

Jonah slowly nodded.

"What can we do?"

Jonah shrugged.

"What if we switched beds?"

Jonah laughed. He loved being teased by Nikolas. "Noooooo."

Nikolas grinned and reached out his hand to Jonah. Jonah's small hand grabbed on to Nikolas'.

"Are you hungry yet?," Nikolas asked.

"Yes."

Nikolas hoped this wasn't a momentary verbal glitch. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Buono!," Nikolas said, reaching for the phone beside his bed. "We'll eat together. Something good, though. No child of mine is ever going to eat hospital food."

"Did someone mention food?," Laura said as she came into the room. Laura lifted up two large take-out bags from the Port Charles Grill.

Jonah beamed at Laura.

Nikolas hung up the phone.

Laura put the food down on a counter. "How do we want to do this?," she asked. She looked at Nikolas. "Do you think you can handle him on your lap?"

"You know, I think I can," Nikolas said, propping some pillows up behind him and leaning against them.

Laura carefully lifted Jonah out of his bed and placed him on Nikolas' lap. Nikolas reached down and grabbed Jonah's blanket, covering him with it. Jonah smiled at him.

Then Laura pulled an overbed table in front of them.

"Okay," she said. "We've got some fruits and cheeses to start with, and then I heard someone likes duck."

"Quack, quack," Jonah said, as soon as he heard the word "Duck."

Laura burst out laughing. She arranged the fruits and cheeses on the table in front of them.

Nikolas cut up a chunk of cheddar and held out a piece to Jonah.

"Σε ευχαριστώ." _Thank you._

"Uh-oh," Nikolas said. "I thought you promised Mommy you wouldn't grow up without her. That's not only a new word, that's a whole other language."

Jonah laughed and reached for another piece.

"I'm sorry about last night," Laura said, brushing Jonah's hair with her hand.

Nikolas nodded.

"Lucky is confused. He doesn't --"

"I don't think we should talk about Lucky."

"Dada."

Nikolas looked down to see Jonah holding a piece of cheese out for him. Nikolas opened his mouth and Jonah popped the cheese in, laughing.

Nikolas looked up again to see Laura near tears. "I don't want to fight with you," he said. "It's okay. It's okay that you went to Lucky. Claudia's the one who expects you to be perfect. And why not? Until now, you always have been."

Laura shook her head.

"Well, maybe not always. But you've come very close recently. Claudia's pretty mortified that she was hard on you."

"I just want my sons to get along."

Jonah held out a piece of cheese to Laura. She came to the bed, sat down, and took the cheese.

"I have to keep my family safe," Nikolas said. "Nothing else is more important to me right now. Everything else can wait."

Laura was beginning to think that the only one who could solve this rift was Claudia. But it would have to wait. Until Jonah was better.

* * *

Wyndham's Department Store. Toy Department.

They hadn't gone "home." They'd gone to Wyndham's.

They'd stopped by the furniture department, and placed an order. Then they'd picked up enough clothing to last them about six weeks. But Claudia had also picked up luggage. She was feeling optimistic.

Spencer was pretending to ride a life-sized stuffed animal pony. More specifically, he was imitating Nikolas.

"Who am I?," he asked Claudia.

"Uh-uh," she said. "Not answering that."

"Why not?"

"Because you have a biiiiig mouth," she said.

Spencer jumped off the pony. "You have a bigger mouth than I do."

"Really? Since when?"

"Since always. Yours is this big." Spencer held his hands apart at a safe distance from each other. "And mine is this big." He pushed his hands closer together.

Claudia cracked up.

Spencer's face lit up. "Double desserts!"

Claudia buried her face in her good hand.

Spencer grabbed a small hand-held-sized stuffed pony and ran over to their cart. "What about this one?"

"That's a good one. Put it in."

Spencer threw it in.

"I'm sorry I can't hold your hand, amico." Claudia was pushing the cart with her good hand, and even that took some effort. Every few feet, Spencer would push from the opposite side to set it straight.

"That's okay. This is making me stronger."

Claudia laughed again. "Hey, do you want a stomp rocket for while we're here?," she asked.

Spencer's mouth formed a perfect "O" shape and he ran ahead of her, toward the Active Play toys.

"The Junior one!," she called out after him.

Man, Elvira really liked to spoil the kid, Luke thought. Score one for the trainwreck.

Luke was staying back from them, keeping his eyes on the other shoppers. One in particular. A man in a dark suit, clean-shaven. It looked like Claudia had noticed him too. She kept turning away from him, kept leading Spencer away, making sure the stranger never saw Spencer's face, but real casual -- like she was unaware she was being watched.

Luke sidled over to the interloper. The man was too pre-occupied to notice. Luke leaned over and whispered into the man's ear. "You like watching little kids?" The man turned to face Luke, startled.

Luke signaled to the store guard. The guard made a "Who me?" sign with his hands, and then reluctantly came over.

"Sorry to bug you, officer," Luke said. "This man has been watching my grandson a little too closely, if you know what I mean." Luke leaned in and stage-whispered conspiratorially, "I think he likes little boys. You might want to check him out."

"I'm picking out a toy for my nephew," the man said in a British accent.

The guard studied the clean-shaven man. No purchases. No child. No shopping cart. "That right?," he asked.

"Yes."

"What kind of toy?"

"Em, a um, model car."

Two aisles over. "Come on, buddy," the guard said.

"This is preposterous," the man said. "Unhand me, or I shall have to speak to your superior."

"I'm sure he'd like to talk to you too," the guard said. "We don't allow perverts here."

Luke watched the guard lead the man away. Then he took out his phone and dialed. "Luke Spencer here. ... I'd like to get a message to one Agent Dante Falconeri..." He looked up to see Claudia gazing at him curiously from a distance. She gave a slight nod of thanks.

Spencer dumped another gift for Jonah into the cart.

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Room.

She'd bought him an adjustable bed. Sheets. Pillows. A blanket. And matching pajamas for Jonah and Nikolas.

Almost as soon as Jonah had changed into his new pajamas, he'd fallen back asleep. But he looked peaceful now, not wiped out.

Matt had stopped by. All of Morgan's tests had checked out. Once the chemotherapy had done its work, they could start the transplant. If Jonah survived the chemotherapy. Nikolas and Claudia hadn't had that conversation yet. When they'd come across the research together on the internet, both of them had gone silent while reading it. Claudia had scrolled quickly through the bad cases, and lingered on the good cases. Unlike her. But he understood.

There was a knock on the door. It opened slightly and Robin ducked her head in. "Can I come in?"

"There's always room for one more," Nikolas said, smiling at her.

"Wow," Robin said, checking out the room as she came inside. "Someone's been on a shopping spree."

"It's the only thing we can control right now."

"I know," Robin said.

Nikolas suddenly remembered Robert's bout with cancer. "I keep wishing I could explain it all to him," he said, looking down at Jonah. He looked back up at Robin. "But then I remember how much I don't understand."

Robin sat on the side of the bed.

"Thank you for saving my life," Nikolas said.

"Any time," she answered, touching the back of his hand.

"How am I?"

"Good. It was mostly the blood loss that was the problem. And the type of bullet Anthony Zacchara used."

"And the soy in the propofol."

Robin shuddered.

"That close?"

"Too close," Robin said. She looked down at Jonah. For some reason, she'd expected him to be bigger. "When does the transplant start?"

"Next week," he said. Nikolas saw something in Robin's eyes. A flicker or something. "What is it?"

"If Emma was the one who was sick, I know I would want to protect her, to keep her from everyone and every thing. But there are other little boys and girls who are going through exactly what Jonah's going through. That's why General Hospital is a teaching --"

"No," said Nikolas. "I'm sorry, but the answer is no."

"It would just be me. Me and Patrick. So we can learn about the procedures and the illness."

"Matt is Jonah's doctor."

"And Matt is great. So great. But Patrick --"

"I'm sorry, Robin. We have to keep this quiet. And we have to keep it to one local doctor. Matt was there when Jonah was born. He saved Jonah's life before. And Claudia's. He knows how important discretion is."

"So do we."

"You're ..."

"I'm what?"

"I don't know how to say this without sounding insane," Nikolas said, struggling to find the words. "You're not nuts enough."

Robin laughed in shock. "What does that mean?"

"It means that Matt is off-kilter in all the right ways. He knows how to talk to my family when we're in crisis. And he thinks on his feet in a way that works when confronted with sociopaths."

Robin stared at Nikolas.

"He came to me," Nikolas said. "When he heard Sonny and Jason planning Claudia's murder, he came to me. He doesn't see the Port Charles mafia as warm and fuzzy. He doesn't have a history here which clouds his choices."

"Come on, Nikolas, my choices have never been clouded either. When the time came, I told AJ about Michael. And I told _you_ about Spencer."

"And I will be forever grateful. But you waited. And I get it. I understand why. But we can't wait now. For anything. There is no more grey for our family. We need Matt. We need someone who will come to us right away."

Robin looked shattered.

Nikolas reached out and took her hand. "I think you're an amazing person. Who you are. What you've endured. None of what I'm saying now means that I respect you or admire you any less."

"But I'm not what's needed."

"Not right now. Not like this. But I would be grateful for your friendship."

It took a moment. But Robin looked straight into his eyes. "You have it. You'll always have it."

* * *

Spoon Island. Guest House.

They'd stopped by a drug store on the way home. Turns out Elvira was parading the kid around on purpose. She'd wanted everyone to know her kid was a blond. Because she'd planned on turning his hair back back to brown. Courtesy of Luke.

Since Claudia's hand was mangled, she'd made Luke dye the kid's hair. And she'd encouraged Spencer to call Luke "Jacque" while he did it, as if he was some French hairdresser. Luke had had no choice but to play along. When he'd volunteered to dye Claudia's hair too, she'd declined abruptly.

Later, she had had Ned Ashton over to dinner, which she'd ordered in from the Main Hotel on the island. Spencer had taken Ashton's presence as a matter of course.

Claudia easily moved back and forth between business talk about Cassadine Industries with Ned and banter with a little kid. But Princess Cassadine had ignored Luke.

When Spencer had grumbled about the food not being as good as hers, she'd taken a bite of chicken from his plate. Her expression soured, and she went to the refrigerator and rooted through it, taking out ground meat, an onion, an egg, and olives. Then she'd taken some croutons from a canister, soup stock from a cabinet, and spices from a rack.

She said something to Spencer in Russian and the kid dragged a chair over to the kitchen sink and washed her good hand. She'd thanked him in Italian. And then he sat on the kitchen counter and watched as she went to work with one hand, chopping, boiling, soaking, mixing, shaping, dusting, dunking, and finally, grilling four miniature hamburgers on the stovetop. By the time the burgers had hit Spencer's plate, the kid was practically levitating.

He was about to take a bite, and then stopped himself. He climbed into Claudia's lap and hugged her. She smiled, kissed his cheek, and then ruffled his hair. Spencer climbed back into his chair and began to eat.

Claudia seemed almost _normal_ to Luke. This was Bizarro World for sure.

After dinner, she'd sent Spencer upstairs to get ready for bed. _("It's not time yet," he'd said with as much entitlement as a kid could muster. "I can't believe this is the same person who was so proud to show me how he could dress himself," Claudia said. "I never said you had to go _right_ to sleep," she added. Spencer had grinned and bounded up the stairs). _Claudia had signed some paperwork for Ned. _("Hasn't even been a week, but it feels like it's been a year," she said, looking over the files). _And -- to Luke's surprise -- she'd put some of the paperwork aside. For Nikolas. _("No. These two are Nik's babies. Let him look at them. Decide. Give him something to distract him from some of this nightmare.") _And then she'd used some fancy twelve-syllable technological words to instruct Ned on _"the fiber optics project."_

After Ned had left, Claudia had led Spencer into the living room, where the kid started drawing a picture for his little brother while he and Claudia had played some weird sort of word game where they switched languages every few words. Spencer kept collapsing in laughter, which in turn had made Claudia laugh, which in turn had given Luke a headache. When the picture was finished, Claudia had shot a look at Luke, letting him know he was unwelcome.

Luke didn't mind. He could see and hear everything he needed to from outside the living room entryway.

Spencer climbed into Claudia's lap. She wrapped her arms around him.

"Jonah asked for you today."

"He did?"

"Of course he did. And I'm going to take you to him tomorrow, but I have to tell you some things first."

"I'm not a baby."

"I know you're not a baby. I'm not a baby either, but no one told me what to expect when I saw your brother yesterday, and it was hard for me."

Spencer was quiet for a moment. "Why?," he finally asked. When Claudia didn't answer right away, he turned around on her lap to face her. "Mommy?"

"He's got a lot of bruises. From being sick. More than when he left us. And he's weak. He sleeps a lot. And they put ... they put this thing, it kinda looks like a very small upside down cup... they put it right here." She pointed to a spot on Spencer's chest.

"What for?," Spencer said suspiciously.

"It helps the medicine get inside him."

Claudia waited while Spencer absorbed that. Then he turned his face up toward hers. "What else?," he asked.

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Hospital Room.

"No, Sam. Don't do anything. ... Just keep an eye on him. ... Thank you. ... 'Night." Nikolas hung up the phone.

A plan was starting to form in his mind. For Anthony. But it was going to take some time. And during that time, he needed to make sure Anthony was nowhere near his family.

He looked over at the box full of advanced wave technology files. Claudia was going to kill him. He'd finished all of the work in the box already. He was ready to put more of their lives in order.

He picked up the phone and dialed again. After a moment, someone picked up at the other end.

"Did you sleep?," he asked. There was a pause, and then, "Good. ... All right. I think the worst is yet to come. .... No, he ate. ... Sleeping now. ... Can you come by tomorrow? ... No, I'm not telling you when you can and cannot be here, I'm asking you if you would please stop by tomorrow. ... Both of us. I'm in Jonah's room now." Sometimes -- it was very rarely -- but sometimes he understood why Lulu drove Claudia crazy. "I need a favor. ... A very easy one. ... I need you to pick up two things: a baby monitor and a nightlight. ... I told you it was easy. ... I feel much better. ... Thank you for helping last night. ... I love you too. ... Soon. Are you going to tell me what I must and must not do now?" Nikolas waited, and then smiled as he got a laugh out of Lulu. "Thank you. ... I will. I love you. ... Good night."

There had to be something else he could do.

A knock at the door.

"Come in."

Monica came in. "How's my favorite patient?"

"A little out of sorts."

Monica came and sat by the bed. "You rang?"

"Yes. I need for Claudia to get an appointment with obstetrics."

Monica looked knowingly at Nikolas. "Does Claudia think she needs this appointment?"

"She will."

"Nikolas, this is a very rough time for a mother. Maybe you're used to talking Claudia into a lot of things, but right now --"

"Give me a day or two. She'll do it. She'll even want the appointment. I know my wife."

"She knows you very well too."

"What? You think she'll be 'on to me'?"

Colloquialisms always sounded so strange out of Nikolas' mouth. "No," Monica said. "I'm just saying that I hope you're as good for her as she is for you."

Nikolas was speechless. This was the last thing he expected. He was used to fielding Claudia insults. And from Monica, of all people --

"I still think that what happened with Michael was despicable."

Oh.

"But I ran Sam down a few years ago, and all she asked was that I go to rehab. Claudia's been exiled for a year and a half."

Nikolas almost kept the next bit of information to himself, but he decided to share it with Monica. "Claudia says that if she's with the people she loves, she's not in exile."

Monica grew somber.

Nikolas watched her. She'd lost almost her entire family to Sonny and death. "You should visit," Nikolas said.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"I want you to visit. You're my family. Claudia and I -- we've lost so much in our lives. We know what's important. We understand."

Monica's eyes filled with tears. She patted his hand quickly and rose. "We'll see."

The door opened again. Dante came inside.

"Am I interrupting something?," he asked.

"Not at all," Monica said. "I was just leaving." She turned to Nikolas. "I'll make the arrangements, but it's up to her."

"Thank you," Nikolas said.

Monica left the room. Nikolas stared after her, worried.

"Can I...?" Dante gestured to the bedside chair.

"Certainly."

Dante sat down. "We found Anthony's phone."

Nikolas had no idea what this was about, so he decided to keep quiet.

"The images were still on it. Combined with the footage from the surveillance cameras and the ballistics report matching his gun to the bullet extracted from your shoulder, we don't anticipate a problem revoking his probation."

Unbelievable. _Revoking probation?_

"I'd like to meet with you and Claudia tomorrow. Get your statements. Question you about --"

"Tell me something," Nikolas said.

"If I can."

"Anthony completely slaughtered the occupants and employees of an entire medical clinic."

"Out of our jurisdiction."

"Yes. I'm aware of that. If Anthony were to be extradited, what are the death penalty laws of Italy?"

"I'd need to --"

"Italy has no death penalty. What they have is even better. Anthony committed several capital murders -- any one of which would be considered enough for life imprisonment. Within a prison system which despises the murders of the helpless."

"We have no juris --"

"I'd like someone from Interpol to be included in tomorrow's meeting. Claudia and I have a few questions as well."

Dante did not answer.

"I understand you have no jurisdiction over Interpol," Nikolas said with a straight face. "But if you'd like me to place a few phone calls..."

"I'll see what I can do," Dante said.

"Thank you."

* * *

Spoon Island. Guest House. Spencer's Room. Spencer's Bed-Time.

"I liked the fake bed better."

"That one was for bouncing. This one is for sleeping," Claudia said to Spencer. He really thought that sofabed was ingenious.

"So how come Jonah has to wait so long to start getting the bone stuff?"

"Because he's not ready yet. His body has to get ready. Like how I stretch before I go running."

Spencer yawned.

"I saw that!," Claudia said. "Come on," she coaxed Spencer, while holding up the bedclothes for him to climb in.

Spencer climbed in. Claudia tucked his blanket around him. "If you change your mind," she said, "you can come into Mommy and Daddy's room, or I can stay in yours." Fifteen guards around the guest house, and Claudia still didn't trust anyone with Spencer.

"Mommy?"

"What is it?"

"How come Grampa Luke is staying with us?"

"Because he says he can help us." Claudia kissed Spencer's forehead, circumventing any questions about Luke's competence or honesty. "That's from me." She kissed him again. "And that's from Daddy." She hugged him. "I love you. I'm so happy to be with you again, amico."

She went to the bedroom window, checking below to make sure a guard was stationed there. Then she went to the door.

"Wait!," Spencer said, sitting up.

"What?"

"I want to say good-night."

Claudia smiled at him. Went and sat beside him on the bed.

And through the slight opening of the bedroom door, an unseen Luke watched curiously.

Spencer bent over and whispered to Claudia's belly. "Good-night, little baby." Spencer kissed Claudia's belly and then settled back down on the bed.

"Good-night, Spence," she said, lovingly brushing his hair away from his face with her hand. "Sleep tight."

"'Night, Claudee."

Luke backed away from the door and quickly hid in the bathroom next door. A baby, Luke mused. These New Wave Cassadines sure knew how to complicate things.

He waited while Claudia ordered two guards to stand watch outside Spencer's door. He waited until he heard Claudia's bedroom door shut. And then he went exploring.

* * *

Spoon Island. The Guest House. Claudia and Nikolas' Bedroom. Later.

Claudia tried calling Nikolas and Jonah's hospital room, but there was no answer.

She went ahead and put that notice on Craigslist. "To all applicants: say uncle. We have found a match. No need for further contact." She titled it "All Together Now. The Search is Over," left the email address blank and sent it off into cyberspace.

She felt strange. Off-balance. Granted, she hadn't slept enough, but this was something different than sleep deprivation. The feeling would disappear when she was with Nikolas and the boys, and it hadn't been there when she visited Talia's hospital room, but the rest of the time, she was acting. Lying. With any luck, sleep would come quickly. She'd stick close to Spencer in the morning until they reached the hospital, and then the whole family would be together again.

She closed the door to the bedroom, and then rested her hand on her belly. "You tired?," she asked. "I'm exhausted. Let's get you some sleep."

Just as she reached out to shut off the bedroom lights, the phone rang. She picked it up before it got to the second ring.

"Hello?"

"It's me." Nikolas.

"Hi, you. I tried to call you, but there was no answer."

"I turned off the ringer. He's sleeping again. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. You're the one with a bullet wound."

"Is that what that is? I thought it was a new tattoo."

Claudia smiled. "By the way, the sooner we all settle in here, the better. Your step-father has taken it upon himself to move in here until then."

Nikolas groaned.

"It's okay. I've only threatened him once so far."

"I missed hearing your voice this week."

"I missed _you_. It doesn't help that Spencer is starting to do little things just like you."

"Like what?"

"Like the patented Cassadine eye roll."

Nikolas laughed. "By the way, I meant to tell you, I admire your chess moves."

"Really? Any one in particular?"

"The three empty ships in the Mediterranean were very smooth."

Claudia's smile faded.

"Claudia?"

"I had a hard time with that."

"Did someone follow you?"

"No. I just -- it left a mark. You know?"

"I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about. I'd do it again if I had to."

"Claudia, about the gun --"

"I picked it up on the way home. It's perfect."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm ready for anything. Have _you_ brushed up on your marksman skills lately?"

He grumbled something she couldn't hear.

"What was that?," she asked. "I don't speak Mutter."

"Would this be a bad time to tell you that I held a gun to someone your father sent to the hospital?"

"Tonight?," she said, alarmed.

"No. Earlier this week. I was good too."

"You know, you're lucky I find arrogance so attractive."

"You find all of my flaws attractive."

"Some of the virtues, too."

"Dante wants to meet with us tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Are you up to it?"

"Whatever it takes. Lulu says that Jonah picked up two new words."

"Almost."

"What does that mean?"

"It means he likes repeating 'Loo' over and over again. He doesn't know how to stop at two."

She laughed.

"But those are just the English words. He also said Σε ευχαριστώ today. Right after I gave him some cheese."

"He's eating?"

"Yes."

She didn't say anything, but her intake of breath was a little too shaky to be anything but one of relief.

"Get in bed," he said.

"What?"

"Get into bed. Now."

Claudia smiled wickedly. "Really?"

"Well, no, probably not what you're thinking. I'm sharing a room with our youngest. But I thought maybe we could have an old-fashioned Talk until we drift off to sleep."

"That sounds good." Claudia climbed into bed. "Hey, the pillows smell like you. Do you realize that was the longest we've ever been apart?"

"Except for when you left the Guest House."

"I meant since Beecher's Corners."

"I know what you meant."

"So." Claudia smirked. "How was your day, dear?," she asked, doing her best Donna Reed impression. She could swear she heard Nikolas smiling over the phone.

"Let me see," Nikolas said. "Despite my brother's best efforts, I survived surgery. Our youngest slept through most of his first day of chemotherapy. Our oldest is safe in bed. The charges against my wife were dropped. A new little Cassadine is on the way. The whole family's on the same continent. I'd call that a good day."

Claudia turned out the light.

"Nik?," she said, just as he said, "Claudia."

"What?," he said.

"This has to be the last night we ever spend apart."

"Claudia..."

There was a knock at the door.

"Spencer?," Claudia called out.

"Anybody home?," Luke called through the door.

"God," Claudia said, turning her light back on and sitting up.

"What is it?," Nikolas asked.

"Your stepfather is at the door. Your family is too large and interfering." She called out, "What do you want, Luke?"

The bedroom door opened.

Luke stood there, out of breath, with an envelope in his hand. He sauntered over to the bed. "Mail call. Nice to see you making friends."

She reached for the envelope and he pulled it away from her. She got up and snatched it from his hands. Her name was on it. She didn't recognize the handwriting. She looked at Luke suspiciously.

"Your first time seeing this scrawl? Guess she didn't send a wedding gift." He leaned in and whispered in Claudia's ear. "It's from Helena."


	16. Chapter 16

Spoon Island. Guest House. Nikolas and Claudia's Bedroom.

Claudia turned the envelope over in her hands.

"I'll see you in the morning," she said into the phone. "Everything's fine. ... Σ 'αγαπώ πάρα πολύ." _I love you too._ Claudia hung up. She was probably going to get roasted in the morning by Nikolas for lying by omission, but he needed his rest.

"Where did you get this?," she asked Luke.

Viktor hurried into the room, out of breath, glaring at Luke.

Luke indicated Viktor. "Your henchman -- Lurch -- he found it. Thought I'd borrow it. Just in case."

"Почему вы не с Николя?," Claudia asked Viktor. _Why aren't you with Nikolas?_

"Он послал меня сюда." _He sent me here._

Claudia nodded. "Where did you find this?," she asked, holding up the envelope.

"Making the rounds of the beach."

Claudia was silent for a moment. "Елена должна находиться на лодке. См. если вы можете выяснить, какой именно." _Helena must be on a boat. See if you can ascertain which one._

"Yes, Mrs. Cassadine."

"И я позволю моему мужу знать об этом письме. Никто другой." _And I will let my husband know about this letter. No one else._

"Yes, Mrs. Cassadine."

Viktor left the room.

Claudia was left alone with Luke and the envelope.

"Well, princess?," Luke said. "Aren't you going to open it?"

"Probably," she answered. "When I'm alone."

A staring contest ensued. Very uncomfortable and seemingly never-ending. Luke blinked first.

"Okay. Do what you want," he said. "But you're making a big mistake."

Luke left the room. Claudia got up and shut the door behind him.

She slid her finger under the lip of the envelope and unsealed it.

She read slowly, stopping once to laugh bitterly and then again to breathe deeply.

When she was finished, she sat down on the bed, shaken.

Her mind was spinning. She hadn't thought she'd be this weak. She shook her head to clear it.

She opened her night table drawer, took out an ashtray and a book of matches. She set the letter on fire and dropped it into the ashtray, watching it burn.

When the flame had died out and only ashes remained, she crawled under the covers of the bed. She grabbed a pillow and breathed in as much as she could of Nikolas.

And a strange feeling of calm came over her. For the past few weeks, Claudia had been playing defense. Every move she'd made was in reaction to someone else's move. Just like life had been before Nikolas. But now, thanks to Helena, everything was about to change. Claudia was in charge now. She could see every future move as if there were a gigantic chess board in front of her, waiting to be played.

She'd always hated chess. It took too much time. But she'd need time now.

She'd been wrong to get so complacent. She saw that now.

She stroked her belly. Helena didn't know about the baby. That much was obvious from the letter which had just been destroyed. But it didn't matter. Because it was only a matter of time before everyone knew. And in the end, Helena didn't matter.

Helena did not know it, but Helena was about to be part of the past. The baby was the future. This baby. And the boys. And Nikolas.

For Jonah's sake, she had to assume the baby was a boy. That way, she could anticipate any danger her father would pose to Jonah.

Actually, for everyone's sake, she had to assume the baby was a boy. That way, she could anticipate any struggle between her father and Helena.

One thing was certain. No one could know the sex of the child until the day the baby was born. Safer for everyone that way.

"You're inheriting a big mess, little one," Claudia said. "But Mommy's going to fix this. I promise."

And with that, Claudia shut out the light and slept like a rock through the night.

* * *

Elizabeth and Matt's House. Elizabeth and Matt's Bedroom.

Matt nudged Liz. She didn't move. He nudged a little harder.

"Sleeping in," she said, not even bothering to open her eyes.

"I'm heading in."

"'kay."

He kissed her and got up.

She rolled over and opened her eyes. "Hey."

He turned back to her. "See, I _knew_ you wanted me."

"Don't tell Nikolas. About us. I want to tell him."

"We're not friends, Liz. It won't come up in casual conversation."

"No, I know. But just in case --"

"I won't say anything. But I'd tell him soon if I were you. Laura will know soon, and she's there all the time."

Liz groaned.

"I'm just a little ray of sunshine, aren't I?"

"I love you," she said. "And I guess this means I'll see you later."

Matt smiled. And left the room.

* * *

Port Charles Police Department. Mac Scorpio's Office. Morning.

Lucky had gotten a call from Mac the day before. The news hadn't been good.

Now everything had to be formalized.

So here he was, first thing in the morning, in Mac's office. Alone with Mac. Signed some paperwork. Asked some questions.

"For how long?," Lucky said.

"Until we know how much traction the suit will get," Mac said. "How are you set for money?"

_Suspended without pay._

"I can work at Kelly's until this blows over," Lucky said, distracted.

_Elizabeth had said not to worry about the boys. Or her. Then she'd brushed her hair back from her face. Completely instinctual and beautiful motion. And that's when Lucky had seen it. The engagement ring._

"The other men you captured," Mac said. "I think that will count for something. I think it will show that you were just doing your job."

_Elizabeth was sensitive to his feelings. She'd seemed to be tamping down her happiness. Trying to hide it from him._

"We'll need your badge and gun."

Just one musketeer left. How did that work?

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Hospital Room.

When Nadine entered the room at 8 a.m., Nikolas was already dressed and was busy dressing Jonah in a new outfit.

"Are you supposed to be out of bed? Either of you?"

"We feel great," Nikolas said. "Right, Jonah?"

"Yes."

"And it's a special day: it's Family Reunion Day."

Jonah squealed.

When Nadine laughed, Jonah blushed in embarrassment and hid his face in Nikolas' shirt.

Nikolas bent his head down and whispered to Jonah, "It's okay. I'm excited too." Jonah briefly looked up at Nikolas, smiled shyly and then buried his head again.

"Did you talk to a doctor about --"

"We're fine. I got the all-clear and Jonah is going to take it easy." He looked at Nadine. "Did you have something you wanted to check on?"

"I need to take some blood samples."

Nikolas' good mood dimmed. "Now?"

"He's got chemo in a few hours and I need to take some samples before the next round."

The door swung open. Alexis stepped inside. Without missing a beat, as if they were in a middle of a conversation, she said, "And to top everything else off, there will be no more police guards for Jonah. Are you satisfied?"

Nikolas cleared his throat.

"Good morning, Nadine," Alexis said. "Perhaps _you'd_ like to tell my nephew that now is an inopportune moment to be losing police protection. No? See, this is why people think I babble. Because I say all the things that everyone else _should _be saying. And there's a lot to be said, believe me."

Jonah had pushed himself a little away from Nikolas and was looking at Alexis as if she were there for his entertainment.

"Hello, Jonah. I like your little Greek fisherman's sweater. You wear it well."

"Σε ευχαριστώ."

"You're welcome. When did you start speaking Greek?" She looked up at Nikolas. "When did he start speaking Greek?"

"Yesterday."

Matt entered, carrying a clipboard. "Whoa, little dude. Are we going fishing today or what?"

Jonah looked up at Nikolas. Nikolas shook his head at Jonah, as if to say, "Yes, _I_ know we're surrounded by strange people, _you_ know we're surrounded by strange people, but there's nothing we can do about it."

"Great. Let's teach all of the Cassadine children to be haughty, shall we?," Alexis said.

Matt looked over at Nadine. He held up his hand when he saw what she was holding. "We don't need to take the blood sample now. We can do it right before the chemo. I think it'll be easier if we do everything at once."

"The specialist left instructions that --"

"It's okay. I'll take the heat for this one. Let's leave this until later."

Nadine put down her vials. "Okay," she said agreeably, taking the clipboard from Matt.

Matt took Jonah from Nikolas and began to examine him.

Alexis approached Nikolas. She leaned in toward him. "Not a good time to be alienating the police."

Matt's head swerved toward them. "No? Sorry to hear that. I've recently alienated a policeman. By the way, what happens? When that happens?"

To Matt's surprise, Nikolas actually laughed.

"Competence," Nikolas answered. "That's what happens." He turned to Alexis. "I've hired extra guards who have gone through a thorough background check. They'll be arriving soon. As will a new security team."

Alexis eyed Nikolas. And it suddenly came to her. Poor Mac. Growing up, Nikolas had been forced to play chess. He hated it. But obviously enough of it had stuck to make Nikolas a master of considered game play. And Mac had just exposed his queen, so to speak. The whole PCPD, apparently, was going down.

Lulu burst into the room, carrying a shopping bag. "I got everything, I don't need sleep, and I've been fired."

* * *

General Hospital. Reception Area.

Cool as a cuke. That's what Nikky's inamorata was. Couldn't tell she'd had any correspondence from the grand dame. In fact, Spencer had had to wake her up this morning. She was sleeping like a baby. Probably because of the baby, but it was weird. Almost like once she'd heard from the elder Mrs. Cassadine, Claudia could finally relax. Conversely, she was also zipped up tighter than a leather miniskirt. Would not say a word about the letter.

Apparently, Claudia's henchmen hadn't been able to find Helena last night.

Luke had wondered how they were all going to get off the Island without the hounds of Helena noticing. By sending Spencer to the mainland with some vacationing family, it turned out. They'd picked the princeling up at Kelly's, and then made their way to General Hospital.

And now, Spencer ran into the elevator ahead of Claudia, Luke and Viktor.

Viktor hurried after him.

"Still not going to tell me what was in that letter?," Luke said to Claudia.

"What letter?," Claudia responded, getting on to the elevator. When Luke moved to get on after her, she stood in his path, blocking his way. "You want to help out?," she asked him.

"I told you, princess, I'm not leaving --"

"Take a look around. No police surveillance."

Luke took a quick look around. Elvira was right. "Doesn't mean you're not trying to get rid of me."

"What's your point?," Claudia said.

Luke stepped back from the elevator.

"Stay gold, Ponyboy," Claudia said, reaching for the elevator's "CLOSE DOOR" button. Luke looked like a man thwarted as the doors shut. Just the way Claudia liked him.

"Mommy, I wanted to press the button."

Claudia smiled down at Spencer. "Next time," she said.

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Hospital Room.

"I mean, it's not as if I'm going to go into fashion. The only reason I'm working there at all is because Carly didn't trust Kate, and I was supposed to keep an eye on things. And has she even bothered to check in with me once since I got the job?"

Lulu hadn't stopped talking since her announcement. As Lulu unloaded the baby monitor and nightlight into Nikolas' bedside table drawer, he noticed that her hands were shaking.

"I can always work at Kelly's until this blows over," she continued.

Nikolas put his hand on her arm. "Lulu. We'll take care of you." She smiled at him, her eyes a little watery.

Alexis watched Nikolas carefully. Unbelievable. Completely calm and genuine exterior. While he was systematically destroying his own brother _and_ the Port Charles Police Department. Stefan Mark II.

"I should go," Alexis said.

Nikolas let a slight grin slip.

"Uh-uh," she said. "Not funny."

"Perhaps if you could see this from where I'm standing, you'd be amused." he said. "Give my regards to Mac."

"Right," Alexis said, fixing him with her most stern look. He didn't flinch. "Right," she repeated, more hollowly this time. And then she took her leave.

Nikolas turned to Matt as Matt finished examining Jonah. "How is he?"

"Pretty much the same. He ate yesterday?," Matt asked.

"Yes," Nikolas answered. "Why? Is that good? Is that bad?"

"Wow. I wasn't even thinking of that. I was just wondering if he was up for this." Matt took a lollipop from his pocket, unwrapped it, and handed it to Jonah.

Jonah looked at Nikolas questioningly.

"Yes, you can have it," Nikolas said.

Jonah raised his eyebrows in surprise, and quickly popped the lollipop into his mouth.

"We're not big on sweets in our house."

"Nikolas is not big on sweets in our house," Claudia said from the doorway. Spencer ran out from behind her.

"Ped!," Jonah cried out, the lollipop dropping from his mouth.

"Pic!," Spencer called out to him.

Matt helped Jonah down onto the floor, and Spencer ran to him.

As Spencer went to hug Jonah, Nikolas and Claudia both shouted, "Careful!"

Spencer stopped for a second. He stepped back and placed his hand so that it was hovering over Jonah's chest. "È questo, dove hanno messo quella cosa?" _Is this where they put that thing?_

"Sì.," Jonah said, and as he spoke, his voice shook.

Spencer carefully put his arms around Jonah and hugged him, making sure he didn't touch the port. Jonah's face crumbled, and he began to cry. Spencer pulled back, his face full of concern. "Cosa c'è di sbagliato?" _What's wrong?_

But Jonah couldn't answer. He was overcome by sobs. He touched the port, and then half-gestured to the monitoring equipment.

Spencer looked at the equipment. He looked at his brother's distressed state. Spencer's face began to redden in outrage.

Nikolas and Claudia hurried over to the boys, but stopped in their tracks when Spencer took Jonah's hand and turned around to face the adults. He stood in front of Jonah, as if protecting him, and glared at everyone in the room. "What did you do to him?," he demanded angrily.

Jonah was so taken aback by his brother's fury that he stopped crying.

Nikolas and Claudia exchanged a look.

"Okay," Claudia said.

"I think we need a family meeting," Nikolas said.

Spencer looked from Nikolas to Claudia. He opened his mouth to argue, but shut it again when he saw the look on Nikolas' face. He let go of Jonah's hand. Then he stomped across the room and sat on the rug. Jonah toddled after him and sat down next to his brother.

Spencer put his arm around Jonah and then looked up. He pointed at Matt and Nadine. "You go and you go," he said.

"Spencer," Nikolas said. "Enough."

"Actually," Matt said, "I'm done for now, but I'll need to talk to you before the next round." Nikolas and Claudia looked panicked. "No, nothing's wrong, I just want to update you and prepare you. Come find me when you have time."

Matt left the room.

Spencer stared at Nadine.

"I have to stay, sweetie," she said.

Spencer looked furious, but quickly stifled himself again after one look of warning from his father.

"I'll wait outside," Lulu said.

"That's not necessary," Nikolas said. "This is not, after all, Spencer's birthday."

"Nik," Claudia said.

But Nikolas didn't back down. He kept looking at Spencer.

Spencer finally relented and looked at Lulu. "You can stay," he said. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you, Spencer. But it's okay," Lulu said. "I'll be right outside."

Lulu left the room.

Claudia took Nikolas' hand. She led him to the rug, and they sat down with Spencer and Jonah.

Jonah's cheeks were still wet. Claudia recognized his emotional state. It was one she'd dealt in her entire life: holding in all of your anguish until you were with someone whom you knew would be upset on your behalf. Claudia had sometimes gone years before she could let anything out.

"Piccolo," Claudia said. "Are you okay? Do you need a lap?"

Jonah looked at Spencer.

Spencer whispered in Jonah's ear. Jonah shook his head. Spencer whispered again. Jonah shook his head again. Spencer whispered again.

"No," Jonah said to Claudia.

"Okay," Claudia said. "But if you need one, you have two really old and comfortable laps right here across from you. Well, one of them is old. That would be your father's."

Nikolas studied Claudia. Something was different about her. She was calm. Certain. Her old self.

"Did you sleep well?," he asked her.

"Yes," she said, squeezing his hand. Then she turned back to the boys. "Jonah."

"Yes," Jonah said, leaning against Spencer and sucking his thumb.

"It's not a bad thing to cry when you're upset. You know that, right?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

Claudia burst into tears. Spencer, Jonah and Nikolas started toward her, alarmed. She abruptly stopped crying. "See? I cried, and nothing bad happened to me."

Spencer, who had seen this trick before, was a little put out at having been so easily fooled. Jonah stared at his mother in wide-eyed amazement. Nikolas was trying to figure out if this fell under the category of Lying to the Children.

Nadine stared at Nikolas. _This_ was what he married? The woman was practically feeding the kids personality disorders with a silver spoon.

"When you need to cry, Jonah," Claudia said. "I want you to cry. Because when you cry, you let a little of what you're feeling out of you, and that little bit disappears." She caught Spencer looking at her with suspicion. "It's true."

Jonah got up, still transfixed by Claudia, and toddled over to her. He touched her wet cheeks. And then kissed her tears.

Claudia felt herself on the verge of real tears and pulled Jonah to her. "Thank you, piccolo."

He sat down in her lap and tucked his head under her chin. She closed her eyes and savored the feel of him. She hadn't been able to hold him since she'd broken her hand.

"Spencer," Nikolas said gently, reaching out to poke Spencer's foot with his own. "Has Mommy explained what's going on with Jonah to you?"

Spencer scrunched up his face, a little abashed. "Yes."

"Do you need it explained again?"

"No. I forgot it, but now I remember it."

There were rules preventing children of Spencer's age from seeing hospital patients. Rules that Claudia and Nikolas had broken. The rules were there for a good reason, Nikolas thought. Spencer wasn't emotionally ready for any of this. But for better or worse, the need the brothers had for each other was stronger than anything else right now. The family needed to be together.

"Spencer," Nikolas said softly. "Do you need a lap?"

"I'm too big for that."

"What if _I_ need you to sit in my lap?"

Spencer quickly scooted over to Nikolas and plopped himself down on his father's lap. He looked up at Nikolas' shoulder. "Hey!," he said. "What happened to you?"

Nikolas and Claudia exchanged a look.

"We have a rule," Spencer said.

"I know we do," Nikolas said, "But --"

"First Claudee won't tell me about her hand, and now you won't tell me about your shoulder. This rule is only for kids!"

Claudia burst out laughing. Nikolas gave her a look that had a hint of pleading.

She made a poor attempt to stifle her laughter.

"What happened?," Spencer said, in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

"Well," Claudia said, as if she hadn't rehearsed this in her head during breakfast. "I'll tell you what happened to me. My hand got stuck some place, and I yanked it out. And it broke. Like your arm did."

"You yanked it? Why?"

"Because I didn't want to wait."

Spencer took in a deep breath to continue his questioning. Jonah yawned.

"Jonah," Claudia said. "Are you ready for bed already?"

"No," Jonah said, shaking his head emphatically.

"I just got here," Spencer said. "He can't go to sleep."

"Spencer," Nikolas said. "Jonah has to rest when he's tired."

Spencer looked incredibly disappointed. He hadn't seen his brother in over a week. This was the longest they'd been apart since -- well, this was the longest they'd ever been apart.

"I know how hard this is," Nikolas said to Jonah and Spencer. "And you've both been very brave and very good. And I am so sorry, but we haven't reached the end of it. But that doesn't mean it all has to be bad. I think we all deserve an unofficial Cassadine Birthday."

Claudia had no idea where Nikolas was going with this, but she found herself smirking a little.

"Jonah," Nikolas said. "What would you like for breakfast?"

Jonah shrugged.

"Spencer?"

"I had breakfast. Mommy made me pancakes."

Nikolas turned to Claudia. "With one hand?"

"I had help," she said dismissively. She looked at the boys and then at Nikolas. An opportunity was throwing itself at her. Might as well grab it. "Well, this is a sad unofficial Cassadine Birthday. We're getting a freebie, and no one can figure out how to use it. How about an ice cream breakfast?"

Spencer and Jonah looked at Nikolas, waiting for the explosion.

"That's very messy," Nikolas said to Claudia.

"Yes."

"Too cold for the morning."

"I know."

"And full of sugar."

"Yeah."

"It's the perfect Cassadine Birthday breakfast."

Claudia laughed.

Spencer leapt to his feet. "I'll get it!"

And while no one was looking, Claudia got a satisfied smile on her face. Perfect.

"Nikolas," Nadine said. "That may not be the best idea."

Spencer stopped in his tracks, looking at Nadine like she was an interloper.

Claudia knew the feeling. She was over Nadine.

"It's okay, Spencer," Claudia said. "Go ahead."

He ran to the door.

"Amico," Nikolas said, "Take Lulu with you."

"And this," Claudia said, reaching into her pocket and drawing out a folded piece of paper. "Oh." She put the paper back into her pocket, and drew out some American money.

Spencer ran back and took the money. And then he leaned down and kissed Jonah. "Be right back," he said.

Jonah smiled, and then closed his eyes, fading into sleep.

Spencer opened the door. "LU --"

"I'm right here," Lulu said from just outside the door. "What are you doing?"

The door shut behind Spencer.

"I'm sorry," Nadine said. "But in Jonah's condition -- "

"Jonah's asleep," Claudia said. "That's his condition. I've never heard of anyone eating while they're asleep. Is that a new medical disorder?"

Nikolas smiled slightly. "Thank you for your concern, Nadine. But we're fine."

Nadine was going down before this day was over, Claudia determined.

* * *

Kelly's Diner.

Sonny stared into his coffee cup as he finished his phone call. "Thanks, Luke. I appreciate it." He hung up. Then he dialed again. The phone picked up on the other end. "It's me. Just listen for a second before you hang up."

* * *

Port Charles Police Department. Mac's Office.

Mac cracked open all that was left of the Zacchara file. Most of it had been appropriated by the FBI and Interpol. But some significant information remained.

Someone was abducted. In the basement of the Zacchara house. Claudia was found with the missing woman, and Nikolas -- who had been shot. Unfortunately, Sam and someone from the FBI had already arrived, so it was going to be harder to prove that Lucky was taking the safest approach, protecting the abducted woman and Nikolas. Mac had to find out what the other agencies knew. He'd need to contact the WSB.

His thoughts were interrupted as Alexis came into his office.

"Alexis. Always a --"

"You have a problem," she announced.

"I know," Mac said somberly, shutting his file.

"Why are you exacerbating it?"

She looked serious. Mac slowly got to his feet. "What do you mean?"

"You took the police protection off the Cassadines."

"That can't be a surprise. They're suing us."

"They're suing you because Lucky's pursuit of Claudia was completely unprofessional. Personal."

"It doesn't matter why they're --"

"Yes, it does. Because surely you wouldn't have pulled the massive police protection you've been providing unless you thought the threat was gone. Right?"

Mac sunk back into his seat.

"Exactly. You played right into his hands. To any outsider with half a brain, you gave them police protection when you liked them, and you removed it when you had a grudge. Purely personal. Purely unprofessional. Corrupt."

Mac held his head in his hands. He looked up at Alexis. "There's no way to fix this, is there?"

"I suggest you find a way. Fast. And be careful. You wouldn't want it to come out in court that you fixed it right after a visit from the D.A."

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Room.

Nikolas lifted Jonah and brought him to the bed. Claudia tucked the blanket around Jonah. Nikolas wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck. She closed her eyes, letting herself feel safe for a moment.

Then she opened her eyes and looked around. Almost alone. Except for Nurse Nadine.

"Oh," Claudia said to Nikolas. "I almost forgot."

"What?" He turned to look at her.

She pulled the folded piece of paper out again from her pocket. "Message from work," she said, handing it to him.

He unfolded it. And there, in Claudia's handwriting, he read, "_Has this room been swept for recording devices?_"

"Is it important?," Claudia asked.

"Yes," he answered, responding to her note.

Claudia looked pointedly at Nadine and then back at Nikolas imploringly.

"Nadine," Nikolas said.

Nadine looked up at Nikolas.

"Why don't you take a break? Things are quiet and he's got both of his parents here. We can ring the nurses' station if we need anything."

Nadine looked from Nikolas to Claudia. "I'm not supposed to leave the room."

Claudia thought her head was going to explode.

"It's all right," Nikolas said, before Claudia could speak. "We just need a little time alone with our son."

Nadine smiled sympathetically at Nikolas. Claudia turned her head so she could roll her eyes.

Nadine left the room.

"Seriously?," Claudia said, turning back to Nikolas. "A hospital of nurses and we end up with your ex-girlfriend?"

"Claudia."

There was no easy way to do this, so she just came out with it. "Your grandmother sent me a message last night."

She could have sworn Nikolas' blood pressure jumped twenty points.

"Nikolas, it's okay." She rubbed his shoulder. The one without the bullet hole. "It's okay. I think this is a good thing, actually."

"I thought you said you slept last night."

"I did."

"Then explain to me why you're not thinking clearly."

Claudia growled a little at him. "You're the one who's not thinking clearly. Helena wants to form an alliance with me."

"You're not making your case."

"No one knows about this but us and her. And she doesn't know that you know."

"No."

"You haven't even heard what I --"

"No. That's it. End of discussion."

"Last I checked, this wasn't a dictatorship."

"Last I checked, you're pregnant. With a child she would want."

"And she thinks she has what I want. It's perfect. It's the perfect set-up to get her out of our hair forever, and to keep Spencer and the baby safe."

Claudia shut up as the door to the room opened and Dante came in.

"We're all set up down the hall for you," he said.

Nikolas didn't answer, so Claudia stepped in. "We'll be in as soon as someone from the family gets here to stay with Jonah."

Dante nodded and left.

Claudia quickly turned back to Nikolas. "I think someone at the FBI is working with Helena. She knew you were at Crimson Pointe before you set foot in that house. How else was she able to get out of there so quickly?"

"I don't care," Nikolas said. "You will not have any more contact with Helena. We are going to stick together. Be safe. Jonah will get better. And then we'll go home and have the baby. No one can touch us in Greece."

"Until someone else has to leave the Island. Listen to me, this will work. If it's just me and you. And I promise we can bring in everyone else at the last minute."

"No."

Claudia turned away from him, furious.

"You are not getting within a continent of either of those sociopaths ever again. Do you understand?," Nikolas said.

She turned back to face him. "I know what I'm doing," she said.

"You think I'm questioning your competence?," Nikolas asked incredulously. "This isn't about how smart you are, or how capable. This is about what's at risk. From now on," he said, "we risk nothing."

"If we don't act on this, we risk everything. We will have no way of knowing where my father is or where Helena is. We will have no idea of what they're planning."

"I know where your father is."

Claudia stared at him.

"Did you think I wouldn't track him down?"

"I don't understand. You know where my father is and you're letting him what? Sit there? Stand there? Plot there?"

"Nothing good will come from his capture in this country," Nikolas said. "If he dies, we will be stuck here interminably. If he's captured, I've been told that the extent of our retribution will be a revocation of his probation."

"_What?_"

"Exactly. That is why we need to get him to Italy."

Claudia's eyes widened. "No."

"Claudia, this is the only way."

"No, it's not. You don't know my father. He's like a homicidal Houdini. If you wait, he'll escape whomever you have watching him, and then we won't have any idea of how to protect ourselves. We need to strike now. You and me."

"Look at us. You've got a broken hand and I've got a gunshot wound."

"So what?"

"Even if I were to agree to this insanity, we're not ready to handle this on our own."

"He killed my mother," Claudia cried out, suddenly losing control. "Helpless. Surrounded by a building of people. He didn't care that she was weak. He won't care about hurting a child." She looked at Jonah, still fast asleep. "They have no compassion, no humanity." She looked back at Nikolas. "What makes you think anything will stop either of them from coming into this room and ---"

She broke off in tears. He pulled her to him. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry."

She couldn't catch her breath to answer him.

He held her tightly.

"I just can't let you do this alone, Claudia," he said. "It's too risky."

Claudia wiped at her tears with the back of her hand. "This discussion," she said, pulling away, "is not over. And we're not telling the F.B.I. about the message from your grandmother."

Nikolas opened his mouth to speak again, but just then Lulu and Spencer came back into the room with ice cream sandwiches.

"We got every flavor they had," Lulu said.

"They only had three," Spencer said.

Claudia didn't turn from Nikolas. "Do I have your word?," she asked him.

He stared back at her. He knew his wife. If he didn't join her, she would do this on her own. "Yes," he answered.

* * *

General Hospital. Hallway. Minutes later.

Lulu and Spencer had been left with Jonah. (And, Claudia had noted unhappily, Nadine).

Four security experts met Nikolas and Claudia right outside Jonah's room. Nikolas and Claudia had given instructions and then started down the hall, with the four experts close behind them.

Claudia looked down the hallway. Still a little too empty. She glanced at the security team. The finest money could buy. From Russia. And not a single one of them spoke English.

"You want to tell me why the policemen are gone today?," she asked Nikolas. "Or are you going to try to tell me that you had nothing to do with this?" When Nikolas didn't answer right away, she said, mockingly, "We have a rule in this family."

"I've begun a lawsuit."

Claudia tilted her head. "Against your brother?"

"Yes."

"Was this before or after your health had been given an all-clear?"

"A little before. But I was feeling better."

"You're a jackass."

"I can't believe that you of all people would begrudge me retaliation."

"I don't -- oh my God, did you just use the phrase 'begrudge me retaliation'?"

"Why are you asking me rhetorical questions?"

"Because I'm hoping that your stilted language is just a hallucination of mine. And I don't give a damn about your morality, Nikolas. I'm on your case because you know that you're at a high risk for strokes."

"You broke your own hand and went roaming around your father's house when he was armed to the teeth ready to kill you."

"He wasn't going to kill me. He knows I'm pregnant."

Nikolas didn't say anything, just went pale and stopped in his tracks.

"Hey," she said, touching his arm. "I'm okay."

He looked into her eyes. "Do you know how much blood you left in your bedroom?"

"Not as much as you left on that blanket I used on your bullet wound." They both went quiet. Claudia hugged Nikolas. "You're really all clear?"

"Yes."

"And there's nothing else you're not telling me?" His body went the slightest bit tense. Oh, no. "God. What?"

"I made an appointment for you."

It didn't even take five seconds for her to get it. "With Dr. Lee."

"Yes."

Claudia began walking down the hall again. She looked calm. Nikolas caught up with her. She glanced at him. "Control freak," she said.

Nikolas didn't say anything.

"Eh. It'll probably put both of our minds at ease," she said. She played with her wedding ring, which was still hanging from the chain around her neck. A doctor's appointment was the least of their worries now. What a time to play chicken with the police department. She had to admit, though, that Nikolas' little mind game with Mac amused her. "You realize, of course, that there was a possibility that Mac might not have taken the bait."

"I had a thesis. It has now been proven."

Claudia laughed. "I Married a Textbook by Claudia Cassadine. So when does the next lawsuit start?"

"I thought I'd wait a few days."

"I think that thought is good."

He glanced at her. "How do you think Dante Falconeri is going to take Mr. and Mrs. Cassadine?," he asked. Nikolas and Claudia's business personas were more than a little intimidating. Ever since their marriage, Cassadine Industries had been thriving, in spite of the economy.

She gave a short laugh. "Only one way to find out."

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Room.

Jonah was lying in his bed, tired, but awake. Spencer was plying him with toys.

"What do you think of this one?," he said, reaching into the Wyndham's shopping bag and pulling out a plush car.

"Oh," Jonah said, reaching for it.

Spencer held it above Jonah's bed. "You can hug it, but you can't roll it." He handed it to Jonah. "I don't understand it."

"Σε ευχαριστώ," Jonah said. _Thank you._

"Μπορείτε μιλούν ελληνικά τώρα;," Spencer said. _You speak Greek now?_ "Έχετε δείξει μαμά ακόμα;" _Did you show Mommy yet?_

"No."

"Do you have any horses in there?," Lulu asked Spencer.

"Don't give it away," Spencer warned. "I want to show him."

"Okay. Sorry," Lulu said, backing off.

There was a knock at the door. Carly peered through the window. She gestured to Lulu.

Lulu came to the door and opened it, while Spencer took out a small plush horse.

"Hi," Lulu said.

"Hi," Carly said.

"What are you doing here?," Lulu asked, a little rudely.

"Wow," Carly said. "I can see I'm not welcome."

"I'm sorry," Lulu said, in a nicer tone. "What do you want?"

Morgan came up the hall, carrying a knapsack.

"Morgan is here to see his brother."

"Oh."

"Is that okay?," Morgan asked.

"I guess so," Lulu said, holding the door open. She went to follow him inside, but Carly stopped her.

"Do you have a second?," Carly asked. "Can we go somewhere to talk?"

* * *

As Morgan entered Jonah and Nikolas' hospital room, Spencer looked up. A stranger, Spencer thought. And he went and stood protectively at the foot of Jonah's bed.

"Who are you?," Spencer asked Morgan.

"I'm Morgan. Jonah's brother."

* * *

General Hospital. Monica Quartermaine's Office.

Nikolas held the door open for Claudia.

Dante and the man from Interpol stood as she entered the room.

Dante opened his mouth to speak but was rendered speechless when four men -- strangers -- followed Claudia into the room.

"This will only take a few minutes, gentlemen," Nikolas said to Dante and the man from Interpol.

Dante's jaw dropped as the four strangers began to sweep the room for recording devices.

"This is unnecessary, Mr. Cassadine," the man from Interpol said. "Men from both the F.B.I. and Interpol have just finished a --"

He was silenced as one of the strangers removed a small bug from under Monica's desk lamp. The stranger quickly left the room, taking the bug with him.

The entire room fell silent and watched the men work methodically. The search was extensive, but only one other device was found and removed: a small camera was positioned from within the leaves of a potted plant.

The three remaining strangers left the room.

"You were saying?," Claudia said to the man from Interpol.

Nikolas pulled out a chair for Claudia. She sat down. Nikolas sat down next to her and took her hand.

There was an awkward silence until Nikolas spoke. "We expected to find something. We also expect to be unable to trace the source. But if either of you are working with Anthony Zacchara or Helena Cassadine, you should expect to be found out. We have unlimited resources. And should we be murdered, there have been explicit instructions left as to how to continue our investigations."

"If you're not intimidated," Claudia added, "you should be. If I were you, and I were working for either of those sociopaths, I'd be checking my shorts for stains when I left here today."

"Whenever you're ready," Nikolas said to Dante and the Interpol agent.

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Room.

"I am Jonah's brother," Spencer said, his face darkening. "I am Spencer."

"Hello, Spencer. Hi, Jonah, remember me?"

Spencer looked at Jonah. Jonah seemed comfortable with this new person. Morgan.

Morgan held out his hand to Spencer. "I am Jonah's donor. I am the match."

Spencer's face relaxed in sudden understanding. He ran over to Morgan and shook his hand heartily. "You are the match! Come in, come in." He turned to Jonah. "This is your match, Jonah. This is good!"

Jonah smiled at Spencer.

* * *

General Hospital. Outside the Door to Jonah and Nikolas' Room.

"I'm the boy's father," Sonny said.

"No, Mr. Corinthos," Viktor said. "You are not."

"Viktor, right? I know you think you're doing the right thing," Sonny said. "But you're not. I've been to see him before."

"Only in the presence of Mr. Cassadine. Jonah's father."

"Look, I don't know if you've noticed this, but there are no policemen here. Anywhere. Something happened. I'm just here to make sure the boy's grandfather doesn't get to him."

"Thank you for your offer of assistance. You may protect him from here if you'd like. Until Mr. and Mrs. Cassadine come back."

* * *

General Hospital. Monica Quartermaine's Office.

"Was there anything else you needed us to know about on your father's phone? Or just the photos?"

Claudia looked away from Nikolas. "I don't know. I only saw the photos."

"Какие фотографии?," Nikolas asked Claudia. _What photos?_

"Photos of ... " They were only words. It shouldn't be this difficult, Claudia thought.

"Anthony took pictures of ... " Dante paused, not knowing how to put it.

"My mother," Claudia said. "After." She looked like she was going to be ill.

"Claudia," Nikolas said. "Do you need to stop?"

Claudia shook her head. "You said you had video surveillance of my mother's room?," she asked the man from Interpol.

"Yes."

"Of my mother?"

"No. Only your father. Your mother's prognosis was hopeless. Your uncle had the cameras installed in the hopes of pre-empting what eventually happened."

_"Right before I shot her..." _

Claudia closed her eyes. Cleared her head. Blocking out her father's voice and the question Dante was now asking her.

"Claudia." Dante looked at her expectantly.

"I'm sorry. I -- could you repeat the question?"

"Why did you believe Mrs. Petrides was dead?"

"He said he had pictures. He ... I couldn't see any more pictures, do you understand?"

"And the boy? Why did you think he had the boy?"

"He said," she stopped for a moment, and took a deep breath. "He said that if I needed proof, he'd have a piece of my child's anatomy delivered to me." She turned to Nikolas. "I couldn't take the risk of not believing him."

"Why would your father --"

"That's enough for now," Nikolas said to the agents.

"I'd like to see the footage of my father," Claudia said abruptly. "In my mother's room."

The three men looked at her, a little shocked.

"Can I do that?"

The man from Interpol was quiet for a moment. "We can arrange that. If you will be discreet."

"Thank you." Claudia looked at Nikolas. "You had some questions for them, didn't you?"

His thumb brushed the back of her hand. She smiled weakly at him.

"I did," Nikolas said. He looked at the man from Interpol. "When do you plan on releasing the news about the clinic murders in Italy?

* * *

General Hospital. Main Entrance.

The hospital looked different today. Laura couldn't put her finger on what was different.

She was headed to the elevators when she spied Luke flirting with a nurse. She rolled her eyes and continued to the elevator bank.

"Laura!," came Luke's voice from behind her.

She took a deep breath to fortify herself and turned around. "Hi, Luke."

"So... I spent last night with the younger Mrs. Cassadine."

Laura gave Luke her best cut-the-crap look.

"In a manner of speaking. But you'll never guess what I discovered."

"You'd be surprised what I can guess, Luke. The woman lived with me for awhile, and I've been to Greece to visit."

"Helena contacted Elvira."

"What?!," Laura said, in shock.

"Ssh!," Luke said, pulling her aside. "Ms. Zacchara's been real secretive about the whole thing."

"Don't be an idiot, Luke," Laura said, as she looked away from him dismissively. All of a sudden, her head jerked back to him. "No police."

"Come _on_, darlin'. Have I ever brought the police in on anything?"

"No, Luke. I meant where are the police?"

"Oh. I don't know. Claudia noticed that right away too. Left me down here to do surveillence. So I called in the calvary."

Calvary? Luke had no resources. No contacts. No one he could -- . "Oh, Luke," Laura said, rushing for the elevator. "How could you?"

* * *

General Hospital. Stairwell.

Lulu didn't like this.

Carly said she was sorry about Kate firing her. She said she was sorry she'd been so rude about Jonah.

But something was off. Carly was... what was that word Johnny had used to describe when music was used to go on and on to cover something? Vamping. Carly was vamping.

Lulu stared at Carly as Carly went on and on about missing her, and about their history, and about --

Nikolas and Claudia were with the agents. Spencer and Morgan were with Jonah. Morgan. Lulu tilted her head at Carly. She wouldn't. She couldn't. Carly started speaking twice as fast. Oh, God. She was.

"Oh my God," Lulu said, interrupting her. "I can't believe you."

"We're cousins," Carly said. "I shouldn't have let it go on this long."

"No," Lulu said. "I shouldn't have let you go on this long." Lulu headed for the door. She turned back to throw one last comment over her shoulder. "I hope Jax never finds out that you're still covering for Sonny."

Carly rushed to follow Lulu out of the stairwell.

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Room.

"Are you a special brother? Or a regular brother?," Spencer asked Morgan.

"I don't know," Morgan said. "Both, I guess." Morgan reached into his knapsack. "It's weird. I didn't even know I had another brother until last week. I didn't even know what he looked like."

"I have known Jonah his whole life," Spencer said proudly. "We are special brothers."

Morgan brought out a camera. "Have you ever used one of these?," Morgan asked. "You just aim it and press the button."

Spencer's expression turned sour. "Down, Jonah!," he shouted, grabbing the camera.

"Hey!," Morgan said.

Jonah pulled his blanket over himself.

Spencer dropped the camera on the floor and jumped on it repeatedly, smashing it to bits.

"Spencer!," Nadine cried out.

The door to the room flung open.

Viktor entered, taking in the scene. Sonny entered behind Viktor with his gun drawn.

Spencer's eyes widened. "Look out, Viktor!"

Viktor turned around swiftly and quickly disarmed Sonny. "Что случилось?," he asked Spencer. _What happened?_

Spencer pointed at Morgan. "Он был фотоаппарат." _He had a camera._

Viktor looked down at the camera's remains. His face darkened. He turned and grabbed Morgan.

"Hey!," Sonny said.

"Let's everybody calm down," Nadine said.

Lulu entered and took in the scene. "Oh my God."

Carly followed on her heels. And exploded when she saw Viktor manhandling her son.

"Hey!," Carly shouted angrily at Viktor. "Let go of him!"

Sonny retrieved another gun from his shoulder holster and pointed it at Viktor. "Let go of my boy," he said through gritted teeth.

Jonah peered out from underneath his blanket. "Ped!," he said. "Lululululululululu!"

There was the unmistakeable click of a safety being switched off. Sonny felt a gun against the small of his back.

"Drop your weapon," Claudia said. "Now."


	17. Chapter 17

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Hospital Room.

"Drop it," Claudia repeated, jabbing the gun into Sonny's back.

"Let go of my son," Sonny said to Viktor, not giving an inch.

Nadine didn't like the look on either of their faces. She slipped out of the room to find hospital security.

"Это все хорошо, Виктор. Вы можете отпустить его." Nikolas said, from behind Claudia. _It's all right, Viktor. You can let him go._

Viktor let go of Morgan. Morgan rubbed his arm at the spot where Viktor had been holding him. Carly hurried to Morgan's side.

Sonny put his gun away. Claudia put her gun back in its holster, making sure it wasn't seen by Spencer or Jonah. She surreptitiously checked her hand. Steady.

She and Nikolas exchanged a look. Nikolas looked at Sonny and then looked back at Claudia. She nodded.

"Sonny," Nikolas said. "Let's go outside to discuss this."

"Not until I'm sure my sons are okay."

"Son," Claudia said, with an edge in her voice. "Singular."

Lulu hurried over to Jonah. She wasn't sure what she could do, but she figured that one more person in between Jonah and Sonny couldn't hurt.

"Are you okay, Morgan?," Carly asked.

"I'm fine. But..."

"What?," Carly said. "What did they do to you?"

Morgan looked at his father. He wasn't about to get a little kid in trouble now. "Nothing."

"Sonny," Nikolas said.

Jonah watched the scene in front of him curiously.

Sonny made a move toward Jonah's bed. Claudia's hand went instinctively toward her gun. Nikolas quickly maneuvered himself in front of Sonny.

"Outside," Nikolas said.

Sonny looked at Jonah. At Spencer. And at Morgan. He looked at Carly. "You gonna be okay?"

"I'm fine," she said. "Let's go, Morgan."

"Not yet," Morgan said. "Dad. Go. Please."

Sonny's heart sank. He didn't know what he'd done wrong, but it was real clear Morgan was unhappy with him.

Sonny turned and stared at Claudia. She stared back evenly. This was the first time they'd seen each other since he'd threatened to kill Nikolas. To take Jonah. She'd ruined him. He'd tried to destroy her. If there had been no children in the room at this moment, one of them wouldn't have made it out alive.

Claudia looked at Jonah. Spencer. Nikolas. Everything she might never have known if Sonny had had his way. She looked at Sonny again.

"Εάν αυτό είναι ένα χαλαρό τέλος, εμείς θα το χειριστεί," Nikolas said, interrupting her thoughts. _If this is a loose end, we will take care of it._

Claudia looked at Nikolas. He raised his eyebrows ever-so-slightly. She nodded.

"Let's go, Sonny," Nikolas asid.

Sonny stared at Claudia for another beat, and then left the room, followed by Nikolas. Claudia nodded at Viktor, and Viktor followed them.

"You wouldn't want to translate for the rest of the class, would you, Claudia?," Carly said.

Claudia ignored Carly for the moment. She looked from Spencer to Jonah. "Everybody okay here?"

And everyone began speaking at once.

* * *

General Hospital. The Hallway Outside of Jonah and Nikolas' Room.

Nikolas watched as Viktor took his place outside the hospital room door. And then he looked at Sonny.

"This way," Nikolas said, moving down the hall and around the corner, away from the room.

Sonny stayed where he was.

Nikolas came back around the corner to look at him.

"I'm not one of your servants, Nikolas. I'm not here to follow you."

"Oh," Nikolas said. "I'm sorry if I offended your sensibilities, Sonny. I didn't realize you had any, after you pointed a gun in a room with my two pre-schoolers looking on."

Nikolas folded his arms and stared at Sonny. Sonny rubbed his chin with his hand. And then slowly sauntered over to Nikolas.

They turned the corner together. And went a little way down the hall.

"You messed up," Sonny said to Nikolas. "You need my help."

Nikolas laughed.

"Mind sharing the joke, rich boy?"

Nikolas could not imagine Claudia lasting ten minutes under the same roof as Sonny. The man was insufferable. "Sonny," Nikolas said. "Perhaps our discussion of a year and a half ago has escaped your mind. You signed away your custody rights for a reason."

"Blackmail."

Nikolas rolled his eyes. "Now _that_ I can understand offending your sensibilities. I take it you would have preferred a meathook?"

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Room.

Everyone had finally shut up.

Claudia knelt down so that she was eye level with Spencer. "Что случилось?," she asked. _What happened?_

"Он был фотоаппарат," Spencer said, once again, this time pointing to Morgan. _He had a camera._ But this time when he said it, Spencer was uncertain. He suspected he might have done something wrong.

Claudia stood up and stepped toward Spencer. Something crunched beneath her feet. She looked down and saw the remains of the camera. She looked back up at Spencer. He hung back, expecting to be rebuked.

Claudia's eyes softened. She knelt down again and held her hand out to him, and Spencer ran to her. She pulled him into a hug.

"I'm sorry, Mommy," he said.

"No, pirata. You did the right thing," she said, pulling back to kiss his forehead. Spencer smiled, relieved. And then something occurred to him.

"Что такое свободный конец?," he asked. _What's a loose end?_

Claudia decided to let Nikolas handle that one. "We'll talk about that later," Claudia whispered in Spencer's ear.

Carly watched the scene unfolding in front of her in horror. Courtney. This was Courtney's child. Calling Claudia -- that monster -- "Mommy." Speaking Russian with her. Russian. The Cassadine mother tongue. Unbelievable. Why didn't they just gift wrap Spencer with a big fat bow and hand him over to Helena? Carly could not have invented a worse nightmare for herself. Except the one where Claudia had gotten Michael shot.

Claudia stood up, taking Spencer's hand. She turned to Morgan. "I'm sorry about your camera," she said. "We don't let anyone take pictures of Spencer or Jonah. It's nothing personal." Claudia reached for her purse. "I'd like to replace your camera, if you'll let me."

Morgan stared coldly at her. Morgan, who'd been so young the last time she saw him. Who was so open and loving. He looked at her with distrust and dislike.

She almost took a step back, but nodded curtly instead, acknowledging his feelings. "Thank you for helping Jonah. I'll never be able to..." Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of Carly's expression. Forget her. Claudia quickly looked at Morgan again. "Thank you. Would you like to visit with Jonah now?".

"No, Mommy," Spencer said. "He's a --"

Claudia knew where this was going, and she cut Spencer off before he could finish his sentence. "It's okay, amico. Morgan's a good man. He didn't know. He thought it would be okay." Claudia gave Spencer a significant look. Spencer wrinkled his nose. She raised an eyebrow.

He stepped forward -- still holding Claudia's hand -- toward Morgan, and said, very formally, "I am sorry for what I did to your camera."

"That's okay, Spencer," Carly said pointedly. "It's not _your_ fault."

Claudia's heart started racing. She lived in fear of the day when her children found out about what she had done. And she was a little frightened that this morning might have scared Morgan away from being Jonah's donor.

Morgan couldn't believe this. His mother was really going to go there with the kids in the room. "Thank you, Spencer," he said, trying head his mother off at the pass.

"Hey, Spencer," Lulu said. "What do you say we start looking for lunch?"

"Spencer," Carly said. "My name is Carly. I was your real Mommy's best friend."

Spencer looked up at Claudia, confused.

"Your other Mommy," Claudia said.

Spencer's face brightened in understanding. "I used to be blond," he said to Carly. "Just like her. Claudee told me."

There was a vein in the middle of Carly's forehead that was beginning to make itself known. "Really?," she said. "Because Claudia didn't know your Mommy. In fact, your Mommy would have --"

"Carly," Laura said from the doorway. "Maybe you'd like to tell Spencer about your two Mommies." She turned to Spencer. "Carly had two Mommies just like you."

"No," Carly said. "Not just like Spencer. I don't remember either of my mothers ever --"

"Carly," Laura said again. "You do not want to get into a memory contest with me."

* * *

General Hospital. Hallway.

"Look, Cassadine, you can keep going with your insults and your innuendo, but that boy in that bed is my flesh and blood. And if you can't take care of him, you bet I'm gonna step in."

Nikolas' face darkened. "Stay away from my family," he said, moving dangerously close to Sonny.

Sonny pushed Nikolas away from him. "Back off, Nikolas," he said.

"You think a little physical intimidation is the worst I could do?," Nikolas said. "Anytime you even think about forming a relationship with Jonah, you imagine what would happen when he starts asking questions about you. Because we always tell the truth in our family."

Sonny's mouth dropped open. "The truth?," he finally said. "The truth?" He laughed at Nikolas. "Sure. I guess it's possible that Claudia's been telling you the truth for _a year and a half_. I wouldn't want to play the odds on that one, though."

Nikolas brushed that off like it was an inconvenient piece of lint. "Stay away from Jonah. Or our file goes to the F.B.I. and Jonah learns you wanted to hurt his mother."

"You think I'm that easy?," Sonny asked. "Anthony Zacchara wants my son. So I'm going to protect that boy in ways you'll never even know."

Nikolas watched Sonny saunter down the hall and get on the elevator. Sonny gave a little insolent wave as the elevator doors shut.

Nikolas took out his phone and dialed.

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Hospital Room.

"Carly?," Laura said.

Carly turned to snap at Laura, when the door to the room opened, and Nadine hurried in, followed by a security guard.

Claudia turned her face away, rolling her eyes.

"Everything all right in here?," the security guard asked.

Claudia turned back to face Nadine. "Really? You thought this was necessary?"

Nadine couldn't believe this. Two guns drawn in a pediatric room and somehow Claudia thought Nadine was the villain.

The door opened and Matt entered.

He looked around the room. And counted. Ten. Ten people.

Nikolas slipped back into the room. Matt adjusted his figure. Eleven people.

Matt cleared his throat. And saluted Jonah. "Looks like you're a popular guy, Cap'n." He went to the foot of Jonah's bed and picked up Jonah's chart. He held the chart up above his head. "The young sea captain here is getting _chemotherapy_." Matt drawled the word for emphasis. "Can anyone in this room tell me what chemo does to the body?"

Spencer raised his hand.

Matt decided to go with it. He pointed to Spencer. "Yes. The young man with the ice cream stain on the front of his shirt."

"May I go to the bathroom?"

Matt tried very hard not to laugh and was mostly successful. "Absolutely," he said. "Do you require assistance?"

"No. I'm a big boy."

Matt pointed to the bathroom. "Right there."

Spencer went into the bathroom.

Matt adopted a more serious tone. "Jonah's immune system is being suppressed. Destroyed, actually. He can't have this many visitors."

"That's okay," Laura said. "Carly and I were just leaving."

Carly crossed her arms and tilted her head at Laura. "Really?"

"Really," Lulu said.

Claudia looked at Lulu, remembering how Carly and Lulu used to circle their wagons. Lulu was just full of surprises lately.

Carly looked from Laura to Lulu. And then she looked at Morgan. "Morgan? Are you coming?"

"In a minute," Morgan said.

Carly's expression soured. "You yell if you need me," she said. She walked out of the room, followed by Laura and Lulu.

Morgan reached into his backpack and drew out an envelope. He walked over to Jonah's bed and placed it inside. "This is for you," he said to Jonah.

Claudia said a little inner prayer of thanks. It looked like Morgan was holding nothing against Jonah.

"Σε ευχαριστώ," Jonah said.

Claudia's eyes widened. "Jonah!," she said. "Μπορείτε μιλούν ελληνικά τώρα;" You speak Greek now?

Jonah smiled shyly at his mother and shrugged.

Claudia laughed in delight. She went over to his bed and bent over him, kissing the top of his head. She looked up at Morgan, who looked confused. "He said 'Thank you.'"

Morgan's face broke out into a smile. "You're welcome," he said to Jonah.

* * *

General Hospital. The Hallway Outside of Jonah and Nikolas' Room.

Carly, Laura and Lulu stood a little way down the hall from Jonah's room.

"I can't believe you," Lulu said to Carly.

"Me?," Carly said. "Right. You're the one siding with a child killer over your cousin."

"Carly," Laura said. "I can understand why you're so angry at Claudia. But Lulu --"

"She got me away from Jonah just so Sonny could get to him!," Lulu said, her face heating.

Laura quickly looked at Carly. And it was all over Carly's face. "Oh, Carly," Laura said.

"Oh, no," Carly said. "No, no."

The women went silent when the security guard came out of Jonah's room and walked past them. As soon as he reached the elevator, Carly turned to Laura.

"You don't get to judge me," Carly hissed.

"Well, that may be so, but you don't get to get on your high horse," Laura said heatedly.

"I'll get on any damn horse I want to. That witch put a bullet in my son's head!"

For years, Laura had withstood the hypocrisy in Port Charles until she didn't notice it any longer. But she'd been living away from there for awhile now. "What happened to Michael was hideous," she said to Carly. "But you put a bullet in Tony. Sonny put a gun to Nikolas' head. I swear, Carly, I'm sorry for what happened to Michael, but don't pretend you're any different than Claudia."

Lulu looked at Laura in surprise. All of that country air was really keeping her mother in fighting condition.

Morgan came out of Jonah's room.

"Mom?"

"If you think," Carly said to Laura, "that there's any way I'll let my best friend's son grow up in a house with that --"

"Oh, yeah," Lulu said. "I'm sure the courts would just _love_ to talk to you about how you tried to steal Spencer when he was a baby."

"Lulu," Laura said, wincing.

Morgan stared at his mother.

"Morgan," Lulu said. Morgan tore his attention away from his mother and looked at Lulu. "Claudia and Nikolas don't allow photos of Spencer and Jonah because of Helena Cassadine and Anthony Zacchara. They don't want any evidence around of what the boys look like."

"Who are Helena Cassadine and Anthony Zacchara?," Morgan said, exasperated at the amount of knowledge that had been kept from him.

"They're people who'd want to abduct the boys," Laura said softly.

Morgan looked at his mother. "You knew about this?"

"Hey, it's why I tried to raise Spencer myself," she said.

"You knew about this, and you let Dad tell me to take pictures of Jonah?"

Lulu's head immediately whipped in Carly's direction.

The door to Jonah and Nikolas' room opened again, and Nikolas peered out. "Lulu?"

"What?," Lulu said, still staring at Carly.

"Can you take Spencer to find some lunch?"

Laura looked at Carly. Carly seemed to be sizing up some sort of opportunity.

"Leave the kid alone, Mom," Morgan said. He hoisted his backpack onto his shoulder, and started down the hallway to the elevators.

"Morgan?," Carly said. She hurried down the hall after her son.

Laura turned to Nikolas. "It's okay. Spencer will be fine with us."

"Spencer," Nikolas said, ducking back into the room. "Would you go with Grandma and Aunt Lulu to try to find lunch?"

Spencer ran to his father's side.

Nikolas bent down and whispered in Spencer's ear. "Something you think Jonah can't resist."

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Room. A few minutes later.

Jonah was peacefully sleeping in his bed. Morgan's Get Well card had been hung on the wall above his bed. Spencer's drawing of their Island had the place of prominence. It hung inside the foot of Jonah's bed, where Jonah could see it any time he liked.

"The chemo has started taking effect," Matt said to Claudia and Nikolas. "Which will make the transplant more likely to succeed. But certain things are going to happen to his body as it weakens and they are going to be frightening for you to watch."

"You've seen something already," Claudia said bluntly.

"Yes," Matt said, after a moment's hesitation. "He has a blood blister at the back of his throat. Which is not dangerous. But it will pop in the next few days, and it will seem like Jonah is coughing up blood."

Nikolas turned away from Matt.

"Give us a minute," Claudia said to Matt.

She went to Nikolas' side. "Nik?," she said, "Почему ты не даешь мне справиться с этой какое-то время? " _Why don't you let me handle this for awhile?_

Nikolas shook his head. "Мы будем работать с этим вместе." _We'll deal with this together._

"Вы были обращении с ней в одиночку. В течение недели. Я думаю, вам нужен перерыв. " _You've been handling it alone. For a week. I think you need a break._

Nikolas was quiet.

"Nikolas?," Nadine said. "As scary as this is for you, it's much scarier for Jonah. He needs your support."

"Просьба игнорировать ферму девочку," Claudia said. _Please ignore the farm girl._

"Nadine," Liz said. Claudia, Nikolas, Matt and Nadine turned toward the doorway, surprised at Liz's unexpected arrival. "I can take over for awhile. Why don't you take a break?"

Claudia gave a little inward sigh of relief. And then she noticed it. The engagement ring.

Nikolas glanced at Liz. He nodded curtly at her.

"Nikolas?," Nadine said.

Claudia put her hand on her hip.

"You should take a break," Nikolas said to Nadine.

"Okay," Nadine said, shooting a suspicious look at Claudia. She left the room.

"Nikolas," Claudia said.

He turned to her.

"Я буду говорить с Мэттом некоторое время. Когда я уйду, то заметите, обручальное кольцо вашего друга и поздравить ее. И тогда вы будете извиниться перед ней. И тогда вы будете просить ее, чтобы принять от Надин," Claudia said. _ I'm going to talk with Matt for awhile. While I'm gone, you will notice your friend's engagement ring and congratulate her. And then you will apologize to her. And then you will beg her to take over from Nadine._

Nikolas began to turn toward Liz.

"Не сейчас. Когда я ушел. Так будет выглядеть, как вы заметили это по своему усмотрению." _Not now. When I'm gone. So it will look like you noticed it on your own._

Nikolas looked at Claudia. He tilted his head. He gave her a crooked smile.

"Я отличной женой. Пожалуйста, награда мне бонусных баллов на моей карточке." _I am an excellent wife. Please award me bonus points on my score card._ Claudia turned to Matt. She was surprised to find him looking at her like he was sizing her up. "Could we go to your office?"

Matt looked like he was about to say something, and then he stopped himself. "Absolutely," he said. "After you."

Matt held the door open for Claudia and they both left the room.

Liz straightened Jonah's blanket. Nikolas joined her at the bed.

"Claudia is worried about me. Because of Emily and Courtney."

"I'm worried about you too," Liz said.

Nikolas turned to her, his eyes full of apology. "Liz," he said. "I didn't read your letters."

Liz was quiet for a moment. "That's what Matt thought."

"I was angry."

"I apologized. Over and over again."

"She's my wife."

"And if you'd read any of my letters, you would know that I accept that."

"I'm sorry," Nikolas said. "I'm sorry."

"We live too far away from each other now," Liz said. "There's no way for me to fix things when you get stubborn."

"I'm not stubborn," he scowled.

"Really? What does your wife have to say about that?"

Nikolas' eyes narrowed.

"No," Liz said. "Claudia and I are definitely not pen pals. It's just that I _know_ you."

Nikolas looked very uncomfortable. "I don't know how to do this."

"Do what?"

He looked her in the eye. "Would you be my friend again?" He seemed afraid of her answer.

"We'll always be friends," Liz said. "Even when you won't admit it."

Nikolas smiled, grateful. Liz looked like the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders.

Now was the time, Nikolas thought. He looked down. Noticed the ring. "Liz," he said, his face breaking into a smile.

She looked up at him and then noticed what he was staring at. She blushed. "Yeah."

Nikolas pulled Liz to him and hugged her. "Congratulations," he said.

"We just -- we've been together awhile -- and --"

"Do you love him?," Nikolas asked, genuinely curious.

"Yes."

"That's what's important."

Liz looked at him as if she expected him to immediately contradict himself.

Nikolas sat down on his bed. "When I fell in love with Claudia, my mother told me ... she said that love doesn't always come the way we expect it to. It doesn't even come the way we want it to. The important part is that it's there."

Liz sat down beside him. "So everything's good? With Claudia?"

"Aside from the sociopath in-laws working together and Jonah's illness, it's perfect."

Liz smiled weakly. "Jonah's in good hands."

"I know. Matt's a good doctor," Nikolas agreed. Then he leaned toward her and added, "But if he ever hurts you..."

Liz groaned.

"Does Lucky know?"

Liz covered her face with her hands. "Yes," she said, in a muffled voice.

"Ah."

"Between everything that's going on with you and him, and now this engagement, I think Lucky's having a very, very bad week."

Nikolas didn't respond to that.

"Nikolas."

"What?"

"Are you going to let up on Lucky?"

"Maybe. Eventually. I don't know. Would you cancel your engagement just because of Lucky?"

"It's not the same thing."

"If I don't pursue this, he will have Claudia arrested again."

"It's not about Claudia."

"No?"

"No. Come on, Nikolas. It's about his parents. About Luke never being punished for what _he_ did. To Laura."

Nikolas absorbed that nugget. "Well, when Lucky figures that out, and has Luke arrested, and leaves my wife alone, then I'll re-consider my actions."

Liz decided to leave it alone. Maybe she'd have more time to talk to Lucky about it. "How's Jonah?"

"This week is the worst one, right?"

Liz shivered.

"Liz."

"Hmmm?"

"Claudia and I would like you to take over from Nadine."

Liz looked at Nikolas, surprised.

"Would you be willing to do that?"

"It's complicated, Nikolas."

"I know. I know my timing is not ideal --"

"It's not that. It's that Nadine is in Pediatrics. I'm not. My surgical and emergency shifts couldn't be covered by Nadine if we switched."

"You wouldn't have to switch. I'd hire another nurse."

Liz sometimes forgot that Nikolas was, in essence, her boss. And that he had more money than God.

"Is it because of Claudia?," Nikolas asked. "Would you feel uncomfortable spending so much time around her?"

"No, I just --"

Spencer bounded into the room, with Lulu and Laura close behind. "There used to be a restaurant is called the Floating Rib," Spencer said. "Wait until Claudee hears about this."

"Hi, Liz," Laura said. Laura began unloading the food from their boxes.

"Hi, Laura." Liz got up, and turned to Nikolas. "Whatever you need me for, I'm here," she said to him. She kissed his cheek.

"Thank you," he said, gratefully.

Liz turned to Laura. "Wow. Is this all for one meal?"

"They're all of Jonah's favorite foods," Spencer explained, heading over to Jonah's bed.

Laura followed in his wake with a stash of napkins. She smiled at Liz. And that's when _she_ noticed.

"Oh my goodness," Laura said. "Liz! Congratulations!"

Liz smiled. "Thank you."

Laura came over and hugged Liz tightly.

"Grandma dropped the napkins," Spencer said.

_Looks like Matt was right_, Liz thought. She'd told Nikolas just in time.

Nikolas got off the bed and began to kneel.

"That's enough, Your Majesty," Claudia said, coming back into the room.

Nikolas looked up at her.

"Are you trying to kill yourself?," she said, hurrying over and gathering up the napkins. "Back on the bed."

He rolled his eyes.

"You're recovering from surgery," she said.

"I'm fine."

"Okay. Then how about this: how about I worry too much, and I have enough on my plate?"

Nikolas just looked at her. And she knew she was in trouble. Because she'd just said what he was thinking: he worried too much, and he had enough on his plate without Claudia going after Helena.

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Room. Later.

Lulu and Laura left before dinner. Nikolas had asked Liz if Spencer could spend the night at her place. With five guards surrounding her home. She'd exchanged a glance with Matt, and Matt had said, "We'll be the safest house on the block. It'll be like when the President travels."

It had taken awhile to convince Spencer that they weren't trying to get rid of him.

He'd watched the chemo. He'd "entertained" his brother by telling him Batman stories. He'd waited patiently for Jonah to wake up after Jonah had dozed off again.

But it was getting late, and Nikolas thought Spencer should spend a little time away from the hospital.

Matt had excused himself from the room. Spencer's tactics reminded him a little of himself when he was young.

"I don't want to leave," Spencer had finally said, after coming up with a million excuses for why he should stay.

And Claudia felt her heart break, just a little. She sat next to him, and took his hand. "I know," she said. "I hate leaving too. But this isn't a real 'leave.' You'll be back tomorrow. And you'll have met your cousins, and you'll have all new stories to tell Jonah."

"He needs me."

"I know."

"You weren't here when Morgan took the camera out. I was."

"I know."

Liz looked at Claudia. She looked extremely upset. Way out of proportion to what was going on.

"He's going to wake up, and he's going to be sad that I'm not here."

"Spencer," Nikolas said, interrupting Spencer before he reduced Claudia to tears, "You will be back before Jonah wakes up. And if you're not, we'll tell him that you'll be back soon."

Claudia hugged Spencer. "Maybe they'll have a crazy couch where you're going."

"I don't care."

"Claudia," Nikolas said. "Can you give us a minute?"

Claudia got up reluctantly, ruffling Spencer's hair, and went outside.

"Spencer."

Now Spencer knew he was going. He could get Claudee to change her mind, but his father was too hard. "It's not fair."

"None of this is fair, Spencer."

"But --"

"Spencer, you are going to go. The only question is whether you're going to make your mother feel bad about it."

Spencer was silent.

"We're going to be here all night. Your mother and I probably won't get much sleep. We're going to need you to make this room happy." Nikolas nodded at Liz. "We'll call ahead and have one of our people prepare an overnight bag for him." Nikolas put his hand on Spencer's shoulder. "Do you think you can go outside and say good-bye to your mother without making her sad?"

Spencer was silent.

"Spencer," Nikolas said softly. "Please don't make Mommy cry."

Spencer stared ahead. And then he turned to Nikolas and simply said, "Okay."

And he'd gone out the door, with Liz trailing after him.

Claudia had come back in crying.

"What did he do?," Nikolas said, a little angry at Spencer.

"Nothing. Really. He was very sweet. But you know how I am about leaving." She came and sat beside him. "Are you okay? Are you tired? You were up a lot today."

"I'm fine. Claudia, I need to know what you're planning."

"I'm not planning anything."

Nikolas gave her a no-nonsense look.

"I'm going to make Helena sweat for a little while. I want it to look like I never got her message."

"To what end?"

"Eventually, it will look like I'm keeping a secret from you. To everyone. And that's when Helena will get in touch again."

Nikolas grew sullen.

"What?"

"This is exactly what you used to do with your brother."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how you don't care how much you debase yourself for the people you love."

"I'm not --"

"You are. You are going to make this entire town think even less of you than they already do."

"Believe me, I don't think there's that far to go for most of them."

"No? My mother. Lulu. The doctors. Ned."

"Nikolas," she said sternly. "What do you think is more important? Keeping the boys safe, or polishing my reputation in this incestuous little burg?"

"I don't like it."

"Look, I'm not going to do anything for awhile. Let's just wait and see how it goes."

"Claudia."

"What would you like me to do?"

"I'd like you to go to the police. Or the F.B.I."

"The police." Claudia raised her eyebrows. "Interesting. How do you think that will go over?"

Nikolas didn't answer.

"And the F.B.I., well, that should work well. After all, it's not as if our relatives have been known to intercept electronic messages."

"Sarcasm is the last refuge of a mind of limited intelligence."

Claudia laughed. "You know, why would I need to debase myself when my husband mocks my stupidity?"

"What happens if I say no?"

Claudia's smile disappeared. "Nikolas," Claudia said. "It's not as if I'm embarking on something insanely dangerous."

"No?"

"No. You can put as many guards on me as you'd like."

Claudia and Nikolas' relationship had survived as well as it did because it wasn't a dictatorship. He never demanded that she do or not do anything, except tell him the truth. The only time he ever interfered was before they were married. When she bought a gun. When he thought she might hurt herself. But even then, they discussed it. It wasn't a unilateral decision on either of their parts.

If he put his foot down now, it would change their relationship irrevocably. And he didn't want that.

"If it ends up hurting us, as a family, as husband and wife --"

"I will abandon it in a heartbeat."

He was silent. "All right," he said.

Claudia kissed him. "Thank you."

As she hugged him, he hoped he wasn't making a critical mistake.

* * *

Liz and Matt's House. Evening.

"Get away from that," Cameron said to Jake.

"A little respect, Cam," Lucky admonished him. He checked his watch. Elizabeth had been due home an hour ago. And Cameron was getting very cranky. Especially toward Jake, who wanted to play with Cameron's Matchbox Cars, particularly the Corvette.

A key slid into the front door lock. The lock turned. But instead of Elizabeth standing in the doorway, there was Spencer. A brown-haired Spencer.

"Hello, Uncle Lucky."

"Hello, Spencer."

Elizabeth appeared behind Spencer, carrying a small suitcase.

"Hello," Spencer said to Cameron and Jake. "I'm Spencer. I'm your cousin." No response. Maybe he'd chosen the wrong language. "Ciao. Hola. Γειά. Привет."

"No, you were right the first time, Spencer," Elizabeth said. "English. Boys, don't you want to say hello to your cousin?"

Cameron got up first. "Hi. I'm Cameron."

Spencer extended his hand. "Very nice to meet you."

Cameron looked puzzled. Lucky stepped forward and demonstrated. He shook Spencer's hand. Spencer nodded, and turned once again to Cameron. He held out his hand again. Cameron tentatively shook it.

"And who are you?," Spencer said to Jake.

Jake shyly hid behind Lucky's legs.

Spencer crouched down, so that he was eye-level with Jake. He extended his hand. Jake's hand crept out from behind one of Lucky's legs and shook Spencer's.

"This is Jake, Spencer," Lucky said.

"Very nice to meet you, Jake." Spencer eyed the couch, and got a gleam in his eye. "Do I sleep here?," he asked Elizabeth.

"You can stay in Jake's room. We have an extra bed in there."

No couch. Spencer stuffed down his disappointment. "Thank you," Spencer said to Jake.

"He's just a baby," Cameron said. "I can show you where to go."

Jake came out from behind Lucky. "I can show you where to go."

"Cut it out."

"Cut it out."

"Hey!," Cameron yelled at Jake. "Find your own words."

Spencer stepped in between Cameron and Jake. He faced Cameron. "This is your brother?," he asked.

"Yeah," Cameron said, warily.

"A brother is a special thing," Spencer said. "You don't talk to him like that."

"Spencer," Liz warned.

"Elizabeth," Lucky said, eyeing the scene curiously. "It's okay."

"You love him," Spencer said to Cameron, gesturing to Jake. "Better than anyone else. And he is your _little_ brother. So you look out for him."

Cameron was looking at Spencer as if he were an alien life form. Jake was looking at Spencer as if he were Superman.

Spencer turned to Jake. "Please show me your room."

Jake looked from Cameron to Spencer. He looked up at Lucky.

"Go ahead," Lucky said.

Jake held out his hand to Spencer. Spencer took it. Jake led Spencer up the stairs.

Cameron looked at his parents. "That kid is a weirdo."

"Cameron!," Liz exclaimed.

"Sorry," Cameron said. "But if he's going to stay in town, he's going to get picked on." And with that, Cameron ascended the stairs.

"I didn't even think of potential personality conflicts," Liz said to Lucky. "But this might be a rough mix."

Lucky didn't answer. It had just occurred to him that Nikolas and Claudia might have some things in common. Like being loyal, loving older siblings.

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Room. Night.

Claudia looked down at Jonah from their bed.

"Do you think he'll forget about all of this when it's over?," Nikolas asked, looking over her shoulder.

"I don't know. I don't remember anything from when I was his age. Do you?"

"No."

They were so used to living in each other's pockets that there were too many things she'd saved up to tell him. She decided to tackle them one at a time. "I love that rocking horse."

It took him a moment, and then he glanced down at the foot of Jonah's bed. "When we get home," he said, "I'm going to buy him a real palomino."

"A palomino. For a two year-old."

"It's never too early."

Jonah's affection for his brother verged on hero worship, but he and his father were almost eerily alike, from their love of horses to their quiet sympathetic natures. "He takes after you," she said. "Sometimes I look at him and I think the only thing he got from me is his mouth."

Nikolas couldn't resist a playful dig. "I think Spencer gets his mouth from you too."

She smiled. "Me? I'm not the one he gets the entitled aristocrat act from."

"I disagree."

She laughed.

"You spoil him," he said, smiling.

"So what?"

"It's not a criticism. This time."

She laughed again.

"I love you," Nikolas said softly in her ear.

"I love you too," she said.

He ran his hand down her side, following her curves -- a little different now from the ones that he had become so familiar with.

He closed his eyes and ran his hand back up her side.

"Nikolas?"

He opened his eyes again. "Yes," he said, and she could hear that he was smiling.

"What are you doing?"

"Your body is now exactly the way it was when you came to stay in the guest house for the first time. And I couldn't touch you then, so I'm making up for lost time."

She smiled and turned to face him. "You could have touched me then. You didn't want to."

"Not true."

"Anyway, you touched me soon enough. We only made it about two weeks without sleeping together."

"Less. And it wasn't soon enough."

She touched his lips and then turned away from him again, before she started something she couldn't finish with Jonah sleeping beside them.

Nikolas slid in close behind her.

After a moment, Claudia groaned.

"This was a bad idea," she said.

Nikolas didn't answer, just held her tighter. He moved her hair out of the way and kissed her neck.

She felt herself begin to flush. "Keep this up," she said, "and you'll be in a lot of trouble."

"Looking forward to it," he said, brushing his fingers over her throat.

"Have you forgotten," she said, "that you married someone with no impulse control?"

He pulled her over so she was flat on her back on the bed, looking up at him. He bent down and kissed her. She plunged her hand into his hair and pulled him closer.

His hand reached out and fumbled with the drawer of the table next to the bed.

She pulled his hand back and held it against her belly while kissing him.

"Wait," he said, pulling away from her. But she pulled him back to her lips.

He reached out for the drawer again.

She pulled away from him. "What," she asked, exasperated, "are you doing? It's a little late for a condom."

He quickly opened the drawer and pulled out the baby monitor.

Her face lit up.

"Oh," she said, looking around the room.

He smiled at her, turned her face to his, and looked pointedly at the bathroom.

"So, so smart," she said, kissing him quickly and then hurrying to the hospital room door to lock it while Nikolas set up the baby monitor on the table next to Jonah's bed.

Claudia began gathering pillows. Nikolas grabbed the blanket and pulled the nightlight from the drawer. They exchanged a quick look and then hurried into the bathroom.

Nikolas set up the listening device on the sink, while Claudia arranged the blanket and pillows on the floor.

Nikolas plugged the nightlight into an outlet. The room was bathed in a soft, dim light.

Claudia smiled. "Look, Ma, no candles," she whispered and then quietly shut the door.

The stillness lasted one second before Nikolas pulled her down onto the floor.

She straddled his lap, looking with disgust at her useless hand.

"Who needs that?," Nikolas said.

She raised an eyebrow, and then moved in for an intense kiss. Nikolas moaned and lowered her to the pillows covering the floor.

He unbuttoned her shirt. And then looked into her eyes. "Tell me," he said.

"I never loved anyone," she said, kissing him, "before you." She pulled away from him. "Don't you have something to tell me?"

"I will never be in love with anyone else after you."

Her eyes softened. He placed his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her up to him, as she fumbled with his pajamas.

* * *

Hospital Room.

Jonah hadn't woken up.

They were back in the bed now.

Nikolas was staring at her bare belly, grinning.

He looked so goofy that she reached out and tousled his hair.

He bent over her belly and whispered, "I'll love you either way, but don't you want to be a girl?"

Claudia laughed out loud. They both quickly looked at Jonah. Still asleep.

"What's so funny?," he whispered to her.

"Like father, like son," she said.

Her brushed his hand over her belly and then kissed it.

Then he slid up the bed and tenderly kissed her lips.

When he pulled back to look at her, she looked so content that he was hesitant to say anything.

"Claudia?"

"Hmmm?," she said, tracing his jawline with her fingertips.

"Are you going to tell me about the gun?" She looked confused. "When I gave it to you, you looked upset."

Her face fell, but she nodded. She took his hand, not looking at him. "I think... I think it's not good for me to feel things. You know?"

He shook his head. "Like what?"

She looked at Jonah. Then she looked up at Nikolas. She whispered, very softly, "The men who came for Spencer -- on the three boats?"

He nodded.

"I killed fifteen of them. And I ..." She hesitated.

He reached out and touched her face. "What is it?"

"Do you think they had kids?"

"I don't know."

"I just -- I had Viktor get rid of the bodies, just like Sonny was going to get rid of mine. So that no one will ever know." She shook her head. "Before..."

"Before we were together."

"Yes. I would do something and I would be done with it. I can't do that now. I keep thinking about them. Those men. About my moth--" She cut herself off. "I'm scared."

"For Spencer and Jonah."

"No. I mean, yes. But there's something else."

"Tell me."

"I was built to eliminate the enemy. I can still do that. I was taught to leave guilt behind."

"Guilt is a useless emotion," Nikolas said, remembering their very first conversation.

"Exactly. I can't leave it behind anymore. And that's dangerous."

"I made a mistake."

"What do you mean?"

"I thought it was like before. I thought the gun would make you feel safe."

"No, you were right. It does. And I wouldn't want to find out what I'm capable of without the gun. But the aftermath... Nikolas, I wouldn't give us up for anything, but I think I wasn't meant to be here."

She steeled herself for his reaction. But he just brushed a strand of her hair away from her face and looked into her eyes. "I think you weren't meant to be _there_," he said.

And she felt like her mind did a somersault just then. When she looked back into his eyes, he was still looking steadily into hers.

"We were made for each other," he said. "Everything else was just a prelude."

He took his pajama top from the bedside table and handed it to her. She distractedly took it from him, still staring at him.

"You'll figure out what to do about the gun," he said. "You'll make the right decision."

She kept staring at him.

"What is it?," he said.

This is what it feels like to be lucky, she thought. But she didn't answer him. She kissed him. And put on the pajama top. And settled herself against him.

He kissed the top of her head.

"If this baby's a girl," she said, "I want her to feel powerful. But I never want her to feel dangerous."

He wrapped his arms around her. She closed her eyes.

Within minutes, she was asleep.

Nikolas watched her. When she slept, Claudia was almost like a child. Innocent. Trusting. Everything she battled with during her waking hours.

"Tutto sta andando tutto bene," he murmured, as he lost his own battle against sleep. _Everything's going to be fine._

* * *

Jonah and Nikolas' Hospital Room. Later.

A few months after they'd moved to Greece, Claudia's nightmares had started. Every single one of them involved Michael's shooting.

Nikolas woke her up each time and soothed her back to sleep. The nightmares only stopped after she and Nikolas had had a long talk about them. Claudia had skirted around the details of the nightmares, but Nikolas had heard too much in the moments before she woke up. And so he pressed her. And she gave the details. She was confused. She couldn't understand why. Why now.

_"Because it's bothering you."_

_"I know _that._ Why now?"_

_"Because Sonny isn't in the next room."_

_Claudia had scoffed at him. "That makes no sense."_

_"Yes, it does."_

_"By all means, Dr. C., explain away."_

_"Before now, before we got here, before you got away from Sonny, if you'd talked in your sleep, both you and Jonah would have been killed."_

_"You think I have that much control over my subconscious?"_

_"I think you have an enormous instinct for survival."_

Nikolas' dreams were different. There were the nightmares where he dreamed Claudia had been killed. Those he woke up from. Those she was able to banish.

But there were other dreams, dreams of Emily. He'd speak her name while he slept. And Claudia never woke him up from those.

Claudia didn't believe in ghosts. If ghosts existed, she surely would have been visited by some already. But she did believe in souls. She hated to think of an afterlife, but she believed in that too. And she'd made a silent bargain with Emily. Emily could have Nikolas during dreams. She would almost certainly have him in the afterlife. But for every moment between dreams that fell before his death, Nikolas was Claudia's.

And now, the second night after his surgery -- the first night he'd shared a bed with Claudia since the surgery -- Nikolas was dreaming of Emily again. But this wasn't a comforting dream. He seemed to be searching for Emily. Not finding her. This was a disturbing dream.

Claudia placed a cool hand on his forehead. "It's okay," she whispered in his ear. "She'll be back. Give her time."

Nikolas slowly returned to a restful sleep, with Claudia nestled against him.

* * *

He woke with a start a few hours later, before sunrise, sitting up in a panic, taking Claudia with him.

"What is it?," she said, her heart beating fast from having been awakened too quickly.

He slowly turned and stared at her. "What does she have?"

"It was just a bad dream," she said. "Go back to sleep."

"No," he said. "Tell me. Tell me now. You said she thinks she has what you want."

Her eyes darted away from him. He really was too smart. He didn't miss anything. "Please," she said, lying back down, facing away from him. "I'm tired. Let's go back to sleep."

Two boys depending on them and their child growing within her, and she somehow thought he was going to let this go? "What does Helena have that you want, Claudia?"


	18. Chapter 18

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Room.

Nikolas waited for an answer.

Claudia looked away from him, and then looked into his eyes.

"Revenge," she said.

For the past year and a half, Claudia had only danced close to the edge with two things: business and love.

Business was easy. Risk-taking got her blood racing, and she never went so far as to risk the family fortune. She was much too concerned with the boys' inheritance to ever go too far. (And she did like her luxuries). But there were times, during stockholder meetings, or tense negotiations, when Claudia would seemingly pull a maneuver out of thin air, something that would make an ally laugh nervously in disbelief. Nikolas was never the one flinching or twitching. After years of cautious behavior, Claudia's business moves excited him.

Love, though... love was scary. Every confidence she whispered, every secret she told late at night in bed, every piece of her heart she gave to their family -- those things were dangerous for Claudia. She never quite believed that they wouldn't destroy her in the end. Nikolas wasn't scared by her love; he was scared of her fear. Claudia, no matter how much Nikolas and the boys reassured her, was always scared that the bottom would drop out. Which made every loving gesture even more powerful. Every time Claudia opened herself up to love, she believed firmly she might be running toward danger. That she was giving herself over to something which would destroy her. Or to something which would destroy everyone and everything she cared about.

These two things, business and love, gave Nikolas little hints of what Claudia was like without him. In Milan. In Port Charles, before she'd washed up on Spoon Island. In Port Charles, before he'd taken her home to stay in his guest house.

When she'd told him everything about Michael, she hadn't been dancing with danger. She'd been backed into a corner. And when she was convinced that he wasn't going to give her up, she started to feel safe. And liked it.

And now, all of this time later, Helena had found a way to entice Claudia. Oh, Claudia had said she wanted to trap Helena, but he could tell she was tempted by what Helena offered. A chance to dance close to the edge and finally take her father down.

"She said she was sorry for what she'd done," Claudia said. "To Talia. No. That's not the exact -- 'unfortunate.' She didn't apologize, she said it was 'unfortunate.' She said I must understand that there were sometimes unfortunate casualties. Like Talia. And Michael. She knew which buttons to push. But she said she also understood the need to set things right. That what happened to my mother was an abomination. And that she would help me settle things, if I would listen to reason." Nikolas wasn't saying anything. "That's what she has that I want."

"She's going to hand you your father."

"Yes."

"And the tools to eliminate him."

"She didn't get that far. I think she's afraid that I'm still seeking Daddy's approval."

"That you'll betray her."

"Yes. Everything should be fine if I don't contact Daddy before she contacts me again."

"Claudia," he said softly. "I need to know what happened with your father."

"No," she said, shaking her head.

"When you were alone with him --"

"No, Nikolas. Please." She looked too vulnerable. "Please."

She had tried to deny him information before. Always because she thought it would hurt him or because she thought it would cause her to lose him. This time seemed different. As if she were afraid for herself. As if whatever she was holding back was going to hurt _her_. If they were at home, safe, with time on their side, he would have pressed the issue. But they didn't have that luxury here and now. "All right."

Jonah stirred.

Nikolas and Claudia bent over Jonah's bed. Jonah opened his eyes. He yawned.

"Did we wake you up, piccolo?," Nikolas asked quietly.

Jonah shook his head.

"Do you want to come up here with us?," Claudia asked.

Jonah reached his arms up toward them.

Nikolas smiled and lifted him onto their bed, in between them.

Nikolas and Claudia slid down from the headboard, until they were eye level with Jonah.

Jonah closed his eyes again.

Nikolas picked up Jonah's tiny hand and held it in his own. Claudia kissed Jonah's cheek.

He was soon fast asleep.

Nikolas looked up at Claudia again. She was staring at Jonah as if she were trying to memorize his every feature. Matt had told her they had one more day. One more day until Jonah was plunged into the worst of it. This was one dance with danger that Claudia wanted nothing to do with.

He put her hand to her cheek.

"One thing at a time," Nikolas said. "Let's get Jonah better first."

Sometimes she looked at him as if she couldn't quite believe he was real. He knew the feeling.

"Thank you," Claudia said.

He gently brushed her cheek with his thumb.

There was a knock at the door.

Claudia sighed.

"You stay," she said to Nikolas. She slipped out of bed and headed for the door.

"Claudia," Nikolas said.

"What?," she said, turning toward him.

He took off his pajama bottoms and held them out to her. She laughed, in spite of everything.

"You know," she said, taking the pants and putting them on, "you're going to have to get over that some day."

She unlocked the door.

A Cassadine guard wheeled a suitcase into the room.

Claudia looked at Nikolas.

"I thought we could both use a change of clothes," he said.

Claudia ran her hand through her hair. He really did think of everything. That could be a problem later.

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Room. Later.

"Maybe if you lean on this, Jonah. Can you lean against this?" Laura had set Jonah down on the rug, but he seemed tired.

He obediently leaned against the pillow Laura had propped up for him.

"You can always lie down on it, too, Jonah," Lulu added.

"Let's see what we have here," Laura said, looking through the row of books.

The door to the room opened, and Spencer trotted in, followed by Liz.

"Ped!"

"I met our cousins," Spencer said, running over to his brother. "Two boys, just like us."

Jonah pushed himself up off of the pillow.

"Here," Spencer said, handing Jonah a photograph. "This is Cameron. And this is Jake."

Jonah leaned over to hug Spencer as Spencer sat down next to him. Spencer hugged him back.

"We are good brothers, amico." Spencer leaned closer to whisper in Jonah's ear. "Some brothers don't like each other."

Jonah gave Spencer a look of disbelief. He couldn't tell whether he was being teased. He must be being teased. "No," he said.

"Yes," Spencer said, in a very serious whisper.

"Jake is going through this phase that annoys Cameron," Liz said quietly to Laura. "I think it rocked Spencer."

"Wait 'til he sees his father and his uncle together," Lulu said.

"Hey," Liz said. "Where are Nikolas and Claudia?"

* * *

General Hospital. Obstetrics. Examination Room.

"You have to make me a promise," Claudia said to Nikolas. They were alone in the exam room. Waiting.

"What's that?," Nikolas said.

"You have to be glued to my side for the next few months. Because if you're not here when the baby kicks --"

"I'll be here," he said, smiling. "Remember Jonah in the guest house?"

She smiled back at him. "That was a good day."

"Just good?"

"Well, the four of us weren't together yet, so I had to downgrade it."

"Does it become simply 'fine' when there are five of us?"

She cracked up.

The door opened.

Dr. Lee entered.

"Hello, Claudia. Mr. Cassadine." Dr. Lee took a seat by the examination table. She looked disapprovingly at Claudia's bleached hair.

Claudia's hand went to her hair. She hadn't changed back. She felt like she'd tempted fate too much with the two hair color changes since the pregnancy began. She was willing to look like a two-toned monstrosity until enough of her roots came in to cut.

Dr. Lee picked up Claudia's file and read through it. "So... you're almost in your second trimester. I see you flew during your first trimester. Any problems?"

"No."

"Did your physician in Greece mention that with your history, first-trimester travel wasn't a good idea?"

"Yes."

"You know, Claudia, it's important that you listen to your doctor's instructions. Your baby's life depends on it."

_Here we go, _Claudia thought. She opened her mouth to speak, but then decided to wait. If Nikolas could take a bullet for her, she could take Dr. Condescending for the duration of this exam. But Nikolas would be hearing about it later.

Nikolas eyed Claudia curiously.

Dr. Lee continued. "Okay, so we're going to run some tests, check your blood pressure, and get some basic history of the pregnancy. Do you want a test?"

Nikolas was still looking at Claudia. "She's talking to you," Claudia prompted him.

Nikolas turned to Dr. Lee, confused.

"Do you want a test?," she repeated.

"What kind of test?"

Dr. Lee looked uncomfortable.

"Nik," Claudia said. Nikolas turned back to Claudia. "She wants to know if you'd like a paternity test. Just in case little Sandy isn't yours."

Nikolas slowly turned to Dr. Lee. "A paternity test?"

"It's not intrusive. It takes very little time."

Nikolas turned back to Claudia, his face reddening.

"Hey, I told you I wanted to wait until New York City," Claudia shrugged.

You'd have to know Nikolas to see it, but Claudia knew him very well. There was an invisible stream of steam coming out of his ears, and he was mentally practicing Tai Chi.

"This is the end of this examination," Nikolas said to Dr. Lee, taking Claudia's file from her. "It may even be the end of this hospital." He held out his hand and helped Claudia off the examination table.

"E pensare," Claudia said to him, "Si diede una borsa di studio." _And to think ... you got her a fellowship._

* * *

General Hospital. Dr. Monica Quartermaine's Office. Later.

"I don't understand," Monica said. "What could have possessed you --"

"Claudia has a history of paternity issues," Kelly said, as rationally as she could muster. She knew she had erred, but Monica had always been fairminded. "Mr. Corinthos --"

"Yes, I'm well aware of what happened last time," Monica said, her expression souring at the mention of Sonny's name. "And Mr. Corinthos was wrong, wasn't he?"

"Yes, but --"

"And that's besides the point. Do you always ask patients if they want a paternity test, or just the ones married to our biggest donors?"

When Dr. Lee didn't answer, Monica realized that she'd let a little too much of her outrage slip out.

"Kelly, there were many, many things wrong with Mrs. Cassadine's treatment during her last pregnancy. Nothing life-threatening, but all truly uncomfortable and stressful for the mother. And unprofessional. Down to the second paternity test you ordered secretly conducted at another facility."

"I'll apologize," Kelly said. "I've left messages for Mr. Cassadine already --" She stopped speaking as Monica shook her head furiously.

"Mrs. Cassadine. You need to apologize to Mrs. Cassadine. To Claudia. Or your apology will mean nothing to Nikolas."

"I'll call her as soon as I leave here."

"For God's sake, be discreet. No one is supposed to know about this pregnancy."

"I realize that."

"And you'd better hope for all of our sakes that it isn't too late to apologize."

Monica was worried. If Nikolas hadn't been serious about putting the hospital out of business, she would have heard from him. As it was, Kelly Lee's visit was the first she'd heard of the paternity test incident. That was not a good sign.

* * *

Mercy Hospital. Obstetrics. Exam Room.

Dr. Clancy had been summoned into work in the middle of her day off. She'd been pulled into a private meeting with the Hospital Administrator and the Chief of Staff. She'd been told that discretion was important and that the future of the hospital was at stake. And she'd been handed a file for Claudia Cassadine. "Cassadine." The chief investor in General Hospital.

The hallway outside of this exam room had been evacuated. So had the stairway closest to it. Two ominous-looking guards had taken up residence at either end of the hall, and one at the exam room door. And one at the top of the stairs.

And now... well, now Dr. Clancy just waited in the exam room. She had been through the file with a fine tooth comb. She wondered how blunt she could get with the patient without jeopardizing whatever donation the Admin was clearly banking on.

The door opened. Dr. Clancy stood up straight. A thin blonde woman with her hand in a splint entered, followed by a dark-haired man with a large bandage on his shoulder. Somehow Dr. Clancy didn't think the Cassadines had just had a bad day playing polo.

"Dr. Clancy?," the man said.

"Yes."

"Claudia Cassadine," the woman said.

"And I am Nikolas Cassadine. You've read the file?"

"Yes," Dr. Clancy said.

"We'd like an exam. We haven't had one since over a week ago. In Greece."

Claudia Cassadine seemed to being tensing up in anticipation of something. Dr. Clancy decided she was a doctor first and a fundraiser second. "Any problems since your last exam?," she asked casually.

"No," Mrs. Cassadine answered.

"Good. Please have a seat. Both of you."

Mr. Cassadine held out a seat for his wife. She sat, and he sat down next to her.

Dr. Clancy pulled up a chair and sat across from them.

"I'm sorry, I know you've come for an exam, but I need to ask some questions first. I'm playing catch-up here, and there are some things that haven't been noted in the file."

"Okay," Mrs. Cassadine said.

"You already have one child?"

"Yes."

"No more?"

"I have another child, but he's adopted."

"Good, good. That explains it." The Cassadines looked confused. "There's no record of a test for Rh incompatibility."

Mrs. Cassadine shook her head, not understanding. Mr. Cassadine just sat back, observing.

"I think your doctor in Greece didn't understand that you had only delivered one child. He assumed that both children were biologically yours." She leaned forward, speaking to Mrs. Cassadine directly. "We need to make sure that your blood type and the baby's blood type are compatible. If we don't, and there's a problem, we won't find out about it until you deliver. Which could be dangerous for both of you."

"What if you do the blood test and there's a problem?"

"You get two shots -- one in your 28th week and one after delivery. That should take care of everything. The important thing is to be prepared."

There was a weird silence while Mrs. Cassadine stared at Dr. Clancy and Mr. Cassadine stared at Mrs. Cassadine. Dr. Clancy didn't know where to look, so she just kept looking at Mrs. Cassadine as if there weren't anything odd going on.

Then Mrs. Cassadine turned to Mr. Cassadine. "This doctor works for me. You can handle that any way you want to."

At that, Mr. Cassadine seemed to be suppress a smile.

Strangely enough, Dr. Clancy heard "The Hallelujah Chorus" playing in her head. She had a feeling the hospital was going to get its donation.

"Let's start with your blood pressure and go from there," she said.

* * *

Alexis Davis' Office.

The knock on her door was almost perky.

"Come in," Alexis said, in her most businesslike voice. Perky knocks almost always tended to be inappropriate. They usually accompanied cocky defenders.

Mac came in. He looked... happy. "Counselor," he said.

"Chief. You look nauseatingly chipper."

"Always with the flattery."

"I take it from your mood that you solved your Cassadine problem."

He smiled a big Cheshire Cat smile.

Alexis laughed. Mac knew enough not to tell her what he had done. "Well done, Master Chief."

"Master? Does this mean --"

"No. I misspoke."

"Oh, well. There goes my plan to call you Igor for the rest of the day."

"Your mood is really too good. Bordering on unseemly." What had he done?

* * *

Mercy Hospital. Obstetrics. Exam Room.

Dr. Clancy spread the gel over Claudia's belly.

Claudia gripped Nikolas' hand tightly.

"This should just take a few -- oh! There he is -- do you see him?"

Claudia and Nikolas craned their heads closer to the screen.

And there was the baby. The shape was a little fuzzy -- they could make out the head, the torso and the legs -- but the heartbeat was very clear.

Claudia's eyes misted over.

"What is it?"

She looked up to find Nikolas looking at her, concerned.

"With Jonah, they couldn't find a heartbeat."

He squeezed her hand.

"Well, that's certainly not the case here," Dr. Clancy said. "Look at how strong and steady the heartbeat is. Actually, let's listen to it." She turned on the Doppler.

And the sound of the heartbeat filled the room.

Nikolas and Claudia held their breath for a moment. Then they caught each others' eyes and realized what they were doing. They exhaled, laughing.

Nikolas kissed Claudia's temple. She pulled back, and their eyes met. He pressed his forehead to hers. She laughed lightly again, letting out some of the tension. Then she pulled back again and kissed him.

Dr. Clancy shut off the sonogram and the Doppler and took out a packet of wipes.

"Do you want a video?," Dr. Clancy said.

Claudia and Nikolas exchanged a look. She'd carried around sonogram pictures during Jonah's pregnancy. That sort of thing was impossible now.

"No," Nikolas answered. "In fact, we'd prefer you to destroy any record of the sonogram."

Dr. Clancy held out a wipe to Claudia. Nikolas reluctantly let go of Claudia's hand. Claudia took the wipe and began wiping at her belly.

"Is the baby a boy?," Claudia asked Dr. Clancy. "You said 'he.'"

"Or she. We really can't tell at this point."

_Let's keep it that way,_ Claudia thought.

"Are you planning on staying in Port Charles for the next month?"

"Yes," Nikolas said. "Why?"

"We should probably schedule you for an amnio," she said to Claudia.

"No," Claudia said immediately.

Dr. Clancy was taken aback. "It's only because of your age, Mrs. Cassadine. The risks are minimal to the baby, and this way you can --"

"Claudia?," Nikolas said.

"Μια αμνιοκέντηση θα αποκαλύψει το φύλο του μωρού." _An amnio will reveal the sex of the baby._

Nikolas turned away from Claudia. He hadn't considered any of this when he'd seduced her into pregnancy. And now he'd put Claudia in a horrible position. Either put the child in danger by not finding out any genetic problems, or put the baby or Jonah in danger by revealing the sex of the baby to Anthony.

His thoughts were interrupted by Claudia. She covered his hand with hers. "The sex of the baby," Claudia said to Dr. Clancy. "Can we opt not to run the test for that?"

"We usually run them all at once. But we can eliminate that one."

"And then destroy the fluid sample."

Dr. Clancy was taken aback. But she recovered. "We prefer to keep the sample on file, just in case there are discrepancies --"

"Then you'll just have to be very thorough with your report in the first place," Claudia said harshly.

Dr. Clancy suddenly looked a little wary. Claudia didn't speak again, but her face softened, and the tension in the silence eased.

"Is all of what my wife suggested possible?," Nikolas asked softly.

"Yes," Dr. Clancy said, after a moment's pause.

"Then that's what we'll do," Claudia said, threading her fingers through Nikolas' and squeezing his hand reassuringly.

* * *

Wooded Area Within the Cavallo Territory.

It was such a nice dream. A 73-foot Sensation Yacht. Smooth Caribbean sailing. A small crew -- including a cook. The cook looked, oddly enough, like Danny DeVito. Spinelli and Maxie were their guests. And she had the feeling that this was not new for Jason. That he was there every night. That this was _their_ boat. And when they went below --

"Sam!'

And ... back to reality. The hard cold ground, the bugs, the --

"Sam!" More urgent this time, but still whispered.

She opened her eyes. "I'm up. What?"

"Anthony has a visitor," Jason said.

She tried to stand up, but got caught in the sleeping bag. Jason unzipped the sides.

"I can get it," she said, a little testy.

"Yeah, I get it, you don't need my help." The subtext was clearly, _We don't have time for this._

"Sorry. Who's Anthony's visitor?"

"Ric. Ric Lansing just went down into the safe house."

* * *

General Hospital. The Hallway Outside of Jonah and Nikolas' Room.

Claudia made her way to the door to Jonah's room. The guard nodded at her.

"Claudee!," Spencer said, opening up the door. "Jonah ate a whole chicken."

Claudia bit her lip to keep from laughing. "A whole one, huh?"

"Yes. No. But he ate a lot. Where's Daddy?"

_Ripping Luke a new one,_ Claudia thought. But instead, she said, "He'll be up in a minute, pirata. He's talking to Grandpa Luke." Spencer didn't come all the way out into the hallway to tell her about Jonah's eating habits. And certainly not to ask about Nikolas' whereabouts. Something must be up, Claudia thought.

"Cameron doesn't like Jake," Spencer bluntly non-sequitored.

"Ah," Claudia said. "You didn't happen to tell Jonah that, did you?"

"Yes."

Claudia sat down in the hallway. "Come here," she said to Spencer.

Spencer slowly slid down the wall until he was sitting next to her.

"Cameron loves Jake," Claudia said.

"No, he doesn't."

"Yes, he does. You saw them for one day. What if someone saw me right after Daddy said my grilled octopus tasted like chicken?"

"Oh."

"Exactly." Claudia kissed the side of Spencer's head. "Is there anything else I need to know before I go inside?"

"Ned's in there. He has boxes."

Right. Claudia struggled to get to her feet.

"Here," Dr. Lee said, holding out her hand. Claudia didn't take it. She got up by herself.

"Thank you," Claudia said. She said it rather coldly.

Claudia looked from Dr. Lee to the door to Jonah's room. Great. Why did it always feel like she was running an obstacle course?

Kelly steeled herself. What she'd overheard between Claudia and the little boy (who had to be Nikolas' son) had made Claudia seem like almost a completely different person. It had made her think that maybe this Claudia would see reason. But now it seemed to be business as usual.

"Claudia," Dr. Lee said. "About today... I just want you to know how --"

"I'll let Nikolas know you apologized," Claudia said, turning back to the little boy.

Dr. Lee felt like she had been dismissed. She hadn't even been given a chance to talk to Claudia. She reluctantly walked away, toward the elevator.

"Who was that, Mommy?"

"Well, amico, that was someone who --" Claudia caught herself. She really didn't want to say anything that would lead to a Spencer interrogation. "That's a doctor at the hospital."

"What's she --"

Claudia laughed. There was no way to avoid the interrogation.

"What's so funny, Claudee?"

Claudia pulled the door open, and held it open for Spencer.

"They didn't let me sleep on the couch," he complained, as he went inside.

* * *

General Hospital. Main Entrance. Waiting Area.

"You need all the help you can get, Nikky."

Nikolas really didn't have the time for this. But the fact that Luke had called Sonny meant that Luke had to be dealt with. But nicely. Because Nikolas' mother had been the one who told Nikolas about Luke's interference, and Luke and Laura's relationship didn't need anymore complications. So here he was, sitting down for a chat with his stepfather.

"Sonny Corinthos is a hindrance," Nikolas said.

"Not in my experience."

"He asked Morgan to take pictures of Jonah."

Luke suddenly looked crestfallen. He quickly fixed his eyes on the front doors to the hospital.

"Spencer destroyed the camera before any damage was done," Nikolas said. "And Claudia convinced Sonny to put his gun away before the kids got too frightened."

Luke slumped in his seat.

"Sonny considers Jonah his."

"Understandable," Luke pointed out.

"No. He knows what happens if he challenges our parental status."

"What happens?"

Nikolas laughed. "Your friendship with Sonny is rather constricted, isn't it?"

"Nikolas, you don't know what it's like to have a kid kept from you."

"In the first place, Spencer _was_ kept from me. And if you're going to play that card, Sonny kept Michael from A.J. But as far as Jonah is concerned, Sonny is not his father. Jonah is a possession to Sonny."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"No? You were in Beecher's Corners after Sonny held a gun to my head and asked Claudia to choose between me and her son. At that point, Sonny was doomed to go to jail if either Claudia or I were murdered -- or if he took Jonah. So what do you suppose would have become of Jonah if Sonny had gotten his way?"

"He wasn't thinking straight."

"He wasn't thinking of Jonah. He wasn't thinking of Jonah every time he put Claudia in the hospital during her pregnancy. He wasn't thinking of Jonah when he deprived a pregnant Claudia of food and drink just so he could terrorize Dante in their kitchen. He wasn't thinking of Jonah when he denied Claudia any way of protecting herself against Helena. He wasn't thinking of Jonah when he plotted Claudia's murder. Sonny only thinks about Sonny. There are days when I look at Jonah and thank God that precious child grew up with the two right parents. Because with Sonny as his custodial parent? He would probably have a bullet in his head by now."

Luke was quiet for a moment. "Sonny is a lot more complicated than you think he is," he said.

"I'd like him to keep his complications away from my two sons."

Luke rubbed the little hair he had left on the top of his head. "Did El -- did your wife tell you she got a letter from Helena?"

Nikolas didn't answer. He still hadn't talked Claudia out of her plans. For now, Claudia believed it was better for Luke to believe that she was duping Nikolas.

Luke gave a short laugh. "That's one fine marriage you got there, soldier," he said. "What about Anthony Zacchara? What are you doing about him?"

Nikolas stood. "Go home, Luke. I'll let my mother know where you are."

* * *

Cavallo Territory. Anthony Zacchara's Safe House.

"You will do it, Ric. The only question is when."

Ric hated being here. He'd been summoned right when he was in the middle of a huge corporate case in Los Angeles. He still had a major summation to write.

Anthony had informed him of three things: Claudia had gotten away. Helena had disappeared. And Claudia was pregnant. Which made Anthony simultaneously enraged at Ric for not noticing it, murderous toward Claudia for concealing it, and a little proud of Claudia for managing a second pregnancy right as her first child became deathly ill.

"What you're asking is impossible, Anthony."

"That's your specialty. You do the impossible. Stowing Sonny's wife in a safe room. Recovering from a sword slash. Getting me out of the mental ward. And now, there's just one last thing."

"Claudia won't trust me."

"Make her trust you."

"Claudia doesn't trust anyone. Thanks to you."

"Hey, I never promised her anything I didn't deliver. So I don't see where trust would be a big issue for the two of us."

"Anthony --"

"When the time is right, you make her believe you. Or you die. Is that easy for you to understand, _counselor_?"

* * *

Dr. Clancy believed in the power of Google. But she was also smart enough to remember that she'd been asked to be discreet. She travelled all the way out to Connecticut, to New Haven's public library. She made sure there were no video cameras used for surveillance, and used one of the public computers when the building was at its most crowded.

There were tabloid photos of Mrs. Cassadine before she'd been a Cassadine. When she'd been a Zacchara. Mafia princess. Black hair. New York chic.

Business articles about Mr. Cassadine.

There had been a small flurry of articles after their marriage. But after that, silence.

An occasional dry article about an acquisition. Extremely clinical articles about scientific breakthroughs in their subsidiaries. But nothing personal.

But there were other articles. Wikipedia's entry for the Cassadines had been cleaned up to the point of being one small innocuous sentence. "An international conglomerate with interests in the medical and scientific fields, and in the markets of commerce and real estate."

Vanity Fair had had an article about the Zaccharas. Very long. Very -- well, there was no other way to put it: very frightening. Most of the article was about Mrs. Cassadine's father: Anthony Zacchara. Violent. Insane when it suited his legal purposes. There was an incredible amount of allegations. A psychological profile of Mr. Zacchara. An in-depth history that had been pieced together about the son, John Zacchara, who had vanished. And two sentences about the former Claudia Zacchara. In parentheses. "(Mr. Zacchara's daughter, Claudia Cassadine, has managed to make a life for herself away from the family business. A spokesperson for Mrs. Cassadine refused to comment for this article)."

One aspect of the article gave Dr. Clancy pause.

Mr. Zacchara believed in dynasties. It was surmised that that was why his son had disappeared. Murdered by enemies to make sure the Zacchara business would not continue.

The most recent news items about Mr. Zacchara reported his prison release. Released right as he was about to become a grandfather again. Dr. Clancy had no doubts about why the Cassadines' visit had been discreet. And, thanks to her newfound knowledge of Mr. Zacchara's misogynistic tendencies, she had no doubt why the Cassadines wanted the sex of the baby to remain unknown. Dr. Clancy was just wondering how they expected to keep the pregnancy quiet for nine months.

Dr. Clancy glanced around the library. No one appeared to be watching her. She quickly erased the recent history. Emptied the cache. And relinquished the computer to the next patron.

When she got outside, she quickly got into her car and locked the doors. This had to be the last time she went searching for answers. Anything more would be dangerous.

* * *

Tea House. The Asian Quarter. Night.

"So since I have a world of experience with holy matrimony, this is my advice," Patrick said. "Whenever you're wrong, admit it; and whenever you're right, shut up."

Robin poked him in the arm.

"To be fair, I didn't make that up. It's by Ogden Nash."

"If I didn't talk when I was right, I'd never talk," Matt said.

Liz laughed. "You mean when you _think_ you're right," she said.

"Potato, potahto," Matt said.

The restaurant was getting empty. The double date was down to champagne and dessert. So far, it had gone well. They were lucky to find a night that all of them had free so soon after the engagement.

The Tea House had been Robin's idea. She'd suggested it when Liz and Matt had asked Robin and Patrick to be the matron of honor and best man at the wedding.

"Wow," Robin said.

"See," Matt said. "I told you Robin would be impressed that you landed me."

"Landed you?," Liz asked. Then she roared with laughter. She was a little tipsy, and whenever that happened, she was helpless in the face of Matt's sense of humor.

Robin watched Matt and Liz. She'd been a little worried at first. She didn't really think Liz had ever gotten over Lucky. But Liz and Matt actually seemed to _work_. When they'd first started dating, they'd been cute together. And Liz seemed happy. But then all of a sudden, Liz and Matt were very close. _"It's almost like they've been through a war together," _Patrick had said_._ That wasn't quite how Robin had read it, but she understood what he meant. Matt and Liz definitely bickered about the small stuff, but they were rock-solid when it came to the big stuff. And they had each other's backs. Robin had tried to find out what had cemented their relationship, but Liz was keeping that to herself. _"I love him,"_ she'd simply say. _"Isn't that enough?" _The one time Robin had pressed her, pointing out that they'd both been in love and loved before, Liz had just said, _"This is different."_ And that, apparently, was the end of the discussion.

"I just realized," Robin said, "that it's going to be almost impossible to get all of your guests together for a shower. Maybe I should have Epiphany do it."

Liz and Matt exchanged a look.

"What?," Patrick said. "What was that?"

"It's nothing," Liz said. "It's just that we're..."

"We're keeping it small," Matt said.

"The four of us. Gram. The boys."

"And Nikolas and Claudia and their boys if they're still here."

At that, the room felt a little chilly.

Patrick was the one who finally pointed out the elephant in the room. "Claudia? You're leaving out Laura, and Lulu, and you're inviting Claudia?"

Matt put his arm around Liz before she could argue. "We think it might be awkward for Lucky if we have a large wedding with his family there."

"Nikolas is Lucky's family," Patrick pointed out.

"Liz," Robin said gently, "Isn't this just going to perpetuate any problems Lucky and Nikolas have?"

"It'll be a small, quiet ceremony," Liz said. "And I'll explain it to Lucky before it happens."

"And what about Kelly?," Robin asked. "And Lainey? And Bobbie?"

"I have an idea," Matt said. "Why don't you two plan our wedding?"

"Cut it out, Matt," Patrick said. "Robin is just saying --"

"Look," Liz said. "I know you're just trying to help, but we've already decided. Are you going to have a problem with Claudia there?"

"It doesn't look like it will matter if we do," Patrick said.

"I know you are, but what am I," Matt said, mockingly.

"She's a bigot," Patrick said.

Matt was silent.

"What? No joke for that one?," Patrick said. "Claudia Zacchara insulted Robin almost the minute she arrived in town. Because Robin has HIV. And don't tell me I don't know what I'm talking about. I was there."

Liz really, really didn't want to get into this discussion. But there seemed to be no way out of it. Not if they were going to have the wedding the way they wanted it. "That was a long time ago," Liz said softly, wading into the conversation as carefully as she could.

"She's the same," Robin said.

"How do you know that?," Liz asked.

"Because. Look at Nikolas. Look what she's turned him into."

Matt turned to Liz. He wished he and Liz spoke some other language. Nifty trick that. "Is Nikolas different now? Than before?"

"Before what?," Liz asked, puzzled.

"I don't know," Matt shrugged. "Before Claudia?"

Liz considered the question for exactly one second. "Yes."

"See?," Robin said. "You see it."

"Nikolas was miserable and obsessed before Claudia," Liz said.

"Oh, come on, Liz," Robin said.

"No, you come on. The man was chasing Rebecca around town. And the rest of the time, he was on a self-destructive bent -- when he wasn't buried in his work, ignoring Spencer."

"How do you ignore Spencer?," Matt asked.

"Spencer was different before Claudia too." Liz turned to Robin. "Tell me you haven't noticed that."

"Liz," Robin said. "Nikolas isn't thinking straight now. Look at how he's handling Jonah's treatment. He could have taken Claudia's child anywhere in the United States. The Mayo Clinic."

"But this is where the donor would be," Matt said. "And he's getting the best pediatric doctors to work with us."

"With you," Patrick said.

Liz's eyes narrowed at Patrick's correction. "What does _that_ mean?"

"Nothing," Patrick said, immediately regretting making his point.

"It's okay, Liz," Matt said.

"No," Liz said. "It's not. Nikolas chose the best doctor for his family. And that's Matt."

"And I guess he took Nadine off the case because she wasn't good enough," Robin said.

Liz rolled her eyes.

"What did _that _mean?," Robin asked.

"It's just," Liz began. "I ... Oh, let's be honest. Would any of us want to be the parent of a child who liked having Nadine for a nurse? Between the hand-puppets and her sticking her nose into everyone's personal business, did _anyone_ think she was going to last more than five seconds with the Cassadines? I'm just glad she got out of there before Spencer got a chance to let loose on her."

Matt cracked up.

"Nikolas is threatening to pull his money out of G.H.," Robin said.

Matt stopped laughing. He and Liz looked at each other questioningly. "_Did you know?" _was the unspoken question. They both shook their heads.

"Why?," Matt asked Robin.

"Because Kelly said something during Claudia's exam this morning," Patrick said.

Liz suddenly felt very sober. Matt got a sinking feeling. But he had to make sure. "What exam?"

Patrick and Robin looked like deer caught in the headlights.

"Ah," Matt said. "You mean the confidential one. The one that could get Jonah and Spencer killed. That one."

Liz stood up. Matt quickly followed suit. He reached into his wallet, and pulled out a wad of cash.

"What are you doing?," Patrick said.

"Paying for dinner," Matt said. "I don't think this was a very good time for the two of you. I figure it's the least we can do."

"You're going to tell them," Robin said.

"We have to," Matt said. "We're having a difficult time keeping Jonah alive as it is. If the word is out about Claudia, those boys are in even bigger trouble." He turned to Liz. "You ready?"

"Almost," she said. She turned to Robin. "Ask Nikolas if he'll let you listen to a tape. The tape of Jason and Sonny plotting Claudia's murder. Lulu says it's even worse than you could imagine. For years, you've been standing by Sonny's side. And I get it. You went through hell together. But I want to make sure you know who he really is. And what Claudia was up against the entire time you knew her." Liz shook her head. "If anything happens to Jonah or Spencer -- or to Claudia's baby -- I hope it can't be traced back to you or Kelly."

Matt draped Liz's coat on her shoulders. "Thanks for dinner," he said. "Maybe we can do it again some time."

Matt and Liz left the restaurant.

Robin dropped her head onto the table. "Oh God."

Patrick rubbed her back. "Don't worry," he said. "We'll all be out of a job in a couple of weeks. It will make all of this seem like a walk in the park."

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Hospital Room.

Spencer and Jonah had fallen asleep on the big bed, in between Claudia and Nikolas.

Laura checked her watch. "I think it's time." Lulu had left hours ago.

Claudia reached out and brushed back a wayward strand of Spencer's hair. "Spencer."

Nikolas gently shook Spencer. "Hey. Amico."

Spencer's eyes opened.

"It's time for you to go to the little house. With Grandma."

"No."

Claudia turned her head away, trying to keep herself together.

"You'll come back tomorrow," Nikolas said. "Just like you did today."

"I want a sleepover."

"I can take you downstairs. Tuck you into the car."

"Why can't I stay?"

"Because it's not good for you."

"Why can't I stay, Claudee?"

Claudia took a deep breath, and turned back to face Spencer. "I'm sorry, Spencer. Tomorrow's going to be a bad day. And we want to be able to warn you about what's going on."

"I'll sleep through all of the bad things. I promise." He practically crooned the word "promise."

Claudia laughed, and a single tear escaped her eye.

"Can I stay?"

"Spencer," Laura said, "If you come with me, I promise to give you a tuck-in deluxe."

Spencer looked intrigued.

"What do you say?"

"What's a tuck-in deluxe?"

"Well, you'll have to come with me to find out."

Spencer slowly sat up. "I'm tired," he said.

"The better to tuck you in," Laura said. She came over and picked him up.

"No, I'm too big to be carried."

"Oh-ho-ho," Laura said. "I think you're more awake than I thought you were." She put him down on the floor.

He stood on his tip-toes and held out his arms to Claudia. She bent down and kissed him on the forehead. "Good night, pirata."

"'Night, Claudee." Spencer reached toward his father. Nikolas lifted him up onto the bed again.

"I'm too big to --"

Nikolas hugged him.

"'Night, Daddy."

"Good night, Spencer."

Spencer climbed down from the bed. He took Laura's hand.

"Good night," Laura said. "Give me a call when you're ready for us tomorrow."

Nikolas nodded.

Spencer and Laura left.

Nikolas lowered Jonah into his own bed, and then turned to Claudia. She looked shaken. He wrapped his arms around her.

"It's not like how it was with you and Johnny," he said. "When your father made you leave."

"It feels like that to Spencer."

"Liz said he practically skipped in here this morning. And that last night after he got in the car with her, he was fine."

"Spencer does not skip. He barrels."

Nikolas laughed. "He'll be fine."

"Sure."

"What are you going to do when he starts college?"

"We're going to college with him," she answered, matter-of-factly.

He couldn't tell whether or not she was joking.

* * *

Wooded Area in the Cavallo Territory. Night.

Ric had left in a hurry. Jason had taken after him. And now Sam was left alone in the woods, watching for Anthony.

She heard the sirens coming for a good minute before the police cars arrived.

She just hoped Anthony didn't hear them.

* * *

Cavallo Territory. Anthony Zacchara's Safe House.

Damned police. Anthony strapped holsters onto every conceivable part of his body. Sounded like the cops were getting close.

Anthony crept up the stairs, out into the night air.

That was more like it. Fresh air.

The getaway car was a mile down the road. He'd be fine if he crossed over to the other side of the road and walked through the wooded area.

And then he saw it. A small figure moving, right across the road. Moving into a crouch. Anthony didn't slow down, just extended his revolver and shot. And the small figure went down.

Anthony hurried out into the night, toward his car.

And Sam lay bleeding on the side of the road.


	19. Chapter 19

Road by the Wooded Area in Cavallo's Territory.

More than anything, Sam was angry. Angry at herself. Angry at Anthony Zacchara. A little angry at her mother. Because she was going to have to call Alexis to help get Jason out of a mess. And she just knew Alexis was going to give her a hard time.

Being angry completely circumvented her pain, so Sam got angry all over again when she attempted to stand up and fell down because the leg with the bullet in it didn't work.

And those police sirens were very close now. She didn't have time for this.

She cursed under her breath and hopped back into the woods, dragging her bad leg behind her.

And then she pulled out her phone dialed.

* * *

Kelly's Diner.

Alexis' phone rang right when dessert arrived.

"Aren't you going to get that?," Mac asked.

"Do you want me to?"

"You should at least check it. I think you're in for a pleasant surprise."

Alexis narrowed her eyes at him. "This wouldn't have anything to do with your Cassadine solution, would it?"

Mac just smiled.

Alexis took out her phone. Checked the caller I.D. It wasn't anything business-related. It was Sam.

She connected with the call.

"I'm on a date," she said into the phone, as if that could abbreviate the conversation. "... It depends. ... How important?"

Mac's phone rang. He connected with the call. "Scorpio."

"Never mind. It looks like I suddenly have a window of opportunity for a phone call. What do you need? ... " Alexis grimaced. "Why?," she asked.

Mac suddenly stood up, looking panicked. "I'll be right there."

Alexis watched Mac's reaction. "Yes, I'm getting some idea of that. ... Yes, I'll do it. But I'm not happy. Is that it? -- Hold on." She covered the mouthpiece of her phone. "Anything I should know about?"

"I'll call you later," Mac said, throwing some money on the table. He left.

Alexis uncovered her phone. "Go on. ... You're WHAT?"

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Hospital Room.

Jonah was still asleep.

Nikolas and Claudia were reclining on the adjustable bed, each reading their own file and making notes on it. After a moment, Nikolas closed his file and held it out.

"One second," Claudia said. She made one more note. They switched files.

Nikolas opened up the file he'd just been given. He raised his eyebrows and then looked at Claudia. "Are you sure you want to do this?," he asked, pointing to a figure she had written on the margin of the first page.

She leaned over and looked at where his finger was pointing. "God, no," she said. "That's supposed to be a '2.'"

Nikolas clutched at his heart, feigning a heart attack. She swiped at him with her file.

The door to the room opened, and Liz and Matt entered.

Claudia and Nikolas slowly closed their files and put them down. This didn't look good.

"Is this about Jonah?," Claudia asked.

Matt decided to take a pass at it. "Well, sort of -- I mean, no. I mean, I guess? I mean --"

"It's about your pregnancy," Liz said.

"That's what I mean," Matt added.

* * *

The Wooded Area in Cavallo's Territory

Sam had gathered all of their stuff together into a small pile. She was now sitting behind the bushes. The police were _everywhere_, but the longer it took them to find her, the better Alexis' chances were of getting to Jason.

She lifted her jacket off of her leg wound. Not too much blood. But being angry wasn't enough anymore -- it _hurt._

She picked up her phone. She'd promised Alexis she'd call for an ambulance. If she waited any longer, Alexis' lecture would last about two more hours.

She heard a noise in the woods behind her and dropped her phone. She whirled around with her gun drawn. Only to find someone who looked like an investment banker who'd just stepped off of a commuter train to Scarsdale. He was extending a piece of identification toward her.

"Ms. McCall, I believe?" British accent. Upper class.

"Yeah."

"Jack Bryce, Scotland Yard."

"Yeah?"

Another voice piped up from her other side. "Where did Mr. Zacchara go?"

Sam's head whipped around. The new guy was a lot less House of Lords. Different accent entirely. Italian.

"Who the hell are you?," Sam asked.

"Interpol." As he extended his hand, she saw that he was also carrying identification. Sam pointed down the road to where Anthony had been headed.

"Police! Put your hands up!"

Great. This was turning into a real party. _Who brought the tequila?,_ Sam thought to herself.

"Interpol," the Italian said, casually dropping his jacket over Sam's wound. "Have your supervisor speak to Mr. Bryce." The Italian gestured to the Brit, before rushing down the road.

"What about you, ma'am?"

Sam was torn between being nervous about what her detainment might mean, and severe disappointment that she'd finally turned into a "ma'am." "Ma'am" was for old people.

"She's with us," The Brit said, picking up Sam's phone and handing it back to her.

"Thanks," Sam said. She really, really hoped these agents were who they said they were.

* * *

General Hospital. Emergency Room.

"Calm down, Ms. Davis. I'm sure there's an explanation," Epiphany said. "Give me a moment to check the system. She may have been admitted on another floor."

Calm down. Right.

Alexis went to the waiting area and paced. Back and forth. In front of the broken foot, the itchy child and the drugged out college kid. Alexis made a mental note to take Kristina on a tour of a hospital ward of drug casualties. Just in case all of her daughters were addicted to thrills.

Alexis had done exactly what Sam had asked. She'd called Jason and warned him off returning to Anthony Zacchara's safe house. Alexis was having a hard time keeping her breath even. Anthony Zacchara. What was Sam thinking? She knew what Sam was thinking. Sam was thinking that she was helping Nikolas. And Spencer.

And now Sam was putting Jason first. Making sure no one -- mob or police -- ever found out Jason was ever anywhere near Anthony Zacchara when the police arrived. Because, Sam had said, the police would think he was working with Anthony, and the mob would think he was working with the police.

Fine. She'd only broken about five moral codes to warn Jason. But where was Sam? She'd been shot, she'd promised to call for an ambulance. Where was Sam?

Alexis was going to kill Nikolas. And Sam. Once Sam was safe.

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah and Nikolas' Room.

It hadn't gone the way Matt and Liz thought it would. Nikolas was the one who'd became enraged. Claudia had put her hand on Nikolas' arm, quieting him.

And she had asked Matt and Liz, "Where?"

Liz and Matt glanced at each other, puzzled.

"Where did Dr. Lee tell Robin and Patrick?," Claudia clarified.

There was a moment of silence, and then Liz said, "We didn't ask."

Claudia looked from Matt to Liz, and back again. They'd certainly made their bones when they'd saved her life and rescued Jonah from a life with Sonny. No need for Russian now. She looked at Nikolas. "What do you want to do?"

He gave a very caustic laugh.

"No, I know," she said. "But how should wehandle this?"

The door to the hospital room flung open.

Alexis stormed inside. She pointed at Nikolas. "What were you thinking?"

"Alexis?," Nikolas said.

"That maniac shot her -- she was supposed to be here --" Alexis checked her watch " -- twenty minutes ago, and she's nowhere! She's not picking up her phone, and believe me, I've checked all of the other hospitals in the area. She's gone! What were you thinking?"

The color drained from Nikolas' face as he realized what Alexis was talking about. "Sam," he said.

"Yes, Sam. It was bad enough when you got yourself shot, but then you had to go and send my daughter after that homicidal maniac."

Nikolas picked up the bedside phone and began to dial frantically.

"She's not picking up her phone!," Alexis reminded him.

Claudia slowly turned and stared at Nikolas.

"She's all alone too -- was that your bright idea, or hers?," Alexis continued.

"Cassadine. I need you to search the second road off of Route 92. The entire wooded area," Nikolas said into his phone.

"The police have flooded the area," Alexis said, talking over Nikolas as he finished giving instructions, "with cars, lights, detectives. No one can has seen her!," she said, finally completely losing control.

Nikolas hung up the phone. "I'll fix this, Alexis."

"Fix this?! Fix what? This is what happens when you lie down with animals. I should know -- my history with Sonny cost me my sister!"

Nikolas stood up. "Alexis."

Matt got up too. "Ms. Davis?"

"What?," Alexis shouted, turning to Matt. "What do _you_ want?"

"Maybe we should take this outside," he said quietly, gesturing to Jonah.

Alexis stood still. She slowly turned, looking over at Jonah. She crumbled. She looked at Nikolas. "I'm sorry," she said, crying quietly. "I'm just --"

Claudia's hand brushed down Nikolas' arm. "Why don't you go see if you can find out anything?," she said.

Nikolas looked at Jonah.

"We'll be okay," Claudia said.

Nikolas kissed Claudia. "I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear.

"Take a guard," she said.

She didn't look angry. Or scared. Nikolas opened his mouth to speak, but Claudia leaned over and whispered in his ear.

"None of this is your fault," she whispered.

He pulled back and looked at her.

She nodded.

He got up and went to Alexis. "We'll find her," he said. "Let's go."

* * *

General Hospital. Sam's Examination Room.

A doctor whom Sam had never seen before was injecting her leg with a painkiller. Sam's leg went numb.

"The thing is," Sam said to Inspector Bryce, "my mother _really _needs to know where I am. She's a little neurotic. More than a little. It's sort of an art form with her. And I told her I was shot. Which is going to make her cah-razy."

"I'm sure she'll be most understanding."

"So you'll be the one explaining why I couldn't get in touch with her?," Sam asked.

"I'll need you to hold still," the doctor said.

The door to the exam room opened.

Alexis burst in, followed by Nikolas.

"What is your problem?," Alexis said to Sam, hysterically. "I mean, aside from the gunshot wound." Alexis glanced down at Sam's leg. "Which is bleeding." Alexis looked a little queasy. She turned to the doctor, "Why is it bleeding so much?" Without waiting for an answer, she turned to Inspector Bryce. "And who the hell are you?"

There was a weighted silence.

Inspector Bryce's phone rang. "Pardon," he said to everyone assembled. He connected with the call. "Bryce. ... Yes. ... Yes. ... No. ... He's here now. ... I see. ... Very good." He hung up. "Terribly sorry, but I must be going," he said. He turned to Sam. "Your discretion would be most appreciated."

"Yeah," Sam said. "Jolly good. Thanks for the help back there."

Inspector Bryce looked at Alexis. "Right then." He left the room.

Alexis turned to Sam. "Who was that?"

The doctor dug into Sam's leg. Alexis quickly turned away.

Nikolas knelt by Sam's side. "I'm sorry," he said.

"It's not your fault," Sam said. "PCPD sent a squad. With their sirens blasting."

There was the distinctive clank of a bullet hitting a metal bowl.

Alexis started to turn toward Sam.

"He's gonna be sewing soon," Sam said. "Are you sure you want to see that?"

Alexis turned back around. "Who was that man?," Alexis asked.

"What man?," Sam asked innocently.

"I'm glaring at you right now," Alexis said. "Mentally."

"Did you take care of that thing?"

"What thing?," Alexis asked sarcastically.

Silence.

"Yes," Alexis said. "I took care of your thing. It was illegal, unethical, and completely against my own moral standards, but I took care of your thing."

"Thank you," Sam said.

"And you should probably call your thing to let him know where you are."

"I will," Sam said. Alexis was starting to play nice. Sam decided the water was warm enough to step into. "I wanted to call you. They said I couldn't."

"I am your mother."

"They're --" Sam stopped herself. "They're a higher authority."

"There is no higher authority," Alexis shot back.

"I'm sorry," Sam said.

"Are you really okay?," Nikolas asked.

"Yes." She shot a look at Alexis. "Really." She turned back to Nikolas. "How's Jonah?"

"In the middle of chemo, but he's holding his own."

* * *

General Hospital. Matt and Jonah's Room.

Claudia looked at Matt and Liz. They were dressed up for a night out.

"Congratulations," Claudia said to them.

For a moment, they were puzzled. But then they got it.

"Thanks," Matt said.

"Thank you," Liz said.

Matt was giving Claudia one of his odd looks again. Then again, he was a weird guy. Claudia decided to ignore the look.

"If you guys were out celebrating, don't let us stop you from having a good time," Claudia said.

"It's okay," Liz said. "Dinner was kind of over once the pregnancy came up."

"Dinner was over before that," Matt said. "They insulted my prowess. As a doctor," he quickly added.

Jonah coughed. And suddenly he was choking.

Claudia quickly bent over him, helping him up to a sitting position. "Piccolo?," she said.

He coughed again, and this time, blood came out of his mouth. He moaned, a harsh gasping sound.

Liz hurried to his side and held Jonah up in his seated position. Claudia grabbed a wipe from the table next to her and tried to wipe up the blood, but Jonah couldn't stop coughing. He couldn't catch his breath.

Matt ran over to the medicine cabinet and took out a bottle with a spray pump.

Jonah began to cry uncontrollably, a raw rasping sound.

Claudia reached for him, but couldn't pick him up. She still had one useless hand.

"Here," Liz said, lifting Jonah onto Claudia's lap. Claudia used her one good hand to hold him close.

"Jonah," Claudia said. "Can you go slow? Breathe slowly." She demonstrated, taking slow, calm, easy breaths.

Jonah tried to speak, but coughed again. Liz wiped at his mouth.

"Oh, baby," Claudia said. "I'm so sorry."

Matt approached them. He reached out, cupping Jonah's chin to hold him still. And then he held out the pump aiming it into Jonah's mouth. Jonah struggled to pull his head free of Matt's hand and clamped his mouth shut tightly.

"Wait," Claudia said to Matt. She leaned closer to Jonah's ear. "Piccolo," she said. He gasped. Claudia felt a wave of fear wash over her, and she pushed it aside. "Baby," she said, calmly, sympathetically. "Matt is going to do something. But first he's going to explain exactly how it's going to feel."

Matt shook his head at Claudia. He couldn't understand what she was trying to do. The kid was bleeding, couldn't breathe and --

Claudia nodded at Matt forcefully.

"Jonah?," Claudia gently prodded Jonah.

And in that moment, something odd happened. It was as if Jonah stopped fighting for a breath of air. And he was suddenly able to catch his breath. He obediently looked at Matt.

"Uh. Okay," Matt began.

Jonah coughed again.

Liz stepped in. "Claudia, I think --"

Claudia murmured something to Jonah. He caught his breath again. "Explain," Claudia said calmly to Matt.

"So I'm going to spray something on the back of your throat, Jonah." Matt wasn't really sure if Jonah could hear him. He was crying, and he couldn't still breathe well. "And after I do that, you won't be able to feel anything there. But you won't be able to breathe for a few seconds."

"For how long?," Claudia asked.

Matt shrugged.

Claudia shot him a dirty look. "You know what, piccolo? We'll count. Keep going," she said to Matt.

"And then you'll be able to breathe better, and you won't hurt."

"Jonah," Claudia said softly, soothingly, kissing his brow. "Open up, piccolo."

Jonah looked at his mother. Liz wiped the blood from Jonah's mouth.

"Aprire la bocca, baby," Claudia said. "Per favore." _Open your mouth, baby. Please._

He coughed again. And then he opened his mouth.

Matt sprayed the back of Jonah's throat quickly.

Jonah coughed, choking, trying to breath.

"One," Claudia said. "Two. Three."

Jonah shook his head, gasping, but failing to bring in any breath.

"Four," Claudia said, as if this were something she trusted, doing the finest lying of her life. "Five. Six."

Jonah took a deep breath.

Claudia hugged him.

Jonah began to sob again, but this time he wasn't struggling for air.

Claudia murmured to him. "It's okay. Cry as much as you need to." She kissed his tears. "How do you feel?"

"Mama, mama," he whispered, barely able to produce a sound.

"I know. I'm sorry, piccolo. Are you feeling better?"

Jonah kept crying, but nodded.

"Sei secondi tutto senza respirare," she said, sounding impressed. _Six whole seconds without breathing. _

Jonah wiped at his tears.

"Siete stati incredibili. Attendere fino a quando diciamo Spencer." _You were incredible. Wait until we tell Spencer._

Jonah's sobs began to subside. Claudia swayed with him, rocking him in her lap.

"Fa la ninna, fa la nanna, nella braccia della mamma," she sang softly.

"Mama," Jonah said hoarsely.

"What is it, piccolo?," she asked, concerned.

"Gira, gira."

Claudia was so taken aback that she stopped swayed. "Really?," she said. That was kind of an audience participation song. "You're up for that?"

"Please."

"'Please'?" Another new word. "Oh piccolo, you take my breath away. Ti crescono troppo in fretta." _You're growing up too fast._

"Mama."

"Okay," she said. His eyes closed. And she began to sing again. "**I pirati ballano** sul ponte delle navi."

She peered down at Jonah. He opened his eyes. He looked so tired, but he said, "Please" again.

"E le casse scassano se mancano le chiavi," Claudia continued in song.

She waited.

"Gira, gira," he said, yawning. His eyes closed again.

"Piccolo?," she said.

"'Night," he said.

Claudia kissed the top of his head. "Good night, Jonah."

She waited until his breathing was slow and deep. And then she whispered, "Liz."

"I've got him," Liz said. Liz took Jonah from Claudia and put him back in his bed.

Claudia stared down at Jonah. She was unreadable. She looked back up at Matt.

"How long?," Claudia asked Matt. "How long will what you gave him last?"

"Until morning," Matt said.

"Thank you," Claudia said. "He ... he needs to have things explained to him. He's always been that way. It takes away his fear."

"We won't always have time to --"

"Then explain everything to him as much as you can now," she said, interrupting Matt. Her eyes filled with tears, and she suddenly looked a lot smaller to Matt. "Please," she said.

"As much as I can," he said.

"Thank you."

She leaned over Jonah's bed, brushing his hair away from his face.

Liz watched Claudia. So different from Emily. But Claudia had one thing in common with Emily. It had taken Nikolas a long time to admit his feelings for either of them.

Once Liz had gotten over her anger at Nikolas, she'd pieced together the timeline. Of Nikolas and Claudia. Nikolas had said that he found Claudia right after he came home from the hospital. Stabbed on his docks.

And it took awhile, but when Liz had raked through her memories, she remembered a conversation she'd had with Nikolas about two weeks after his surgery. Nikolas had said he had been attracted to someone new. Someone "dark." Shortly after the conversation, he'd plunged into a relationship with Nadine. The very opposite of dark.

It had taken him over a year to give in to his feelings for Claudia. Less than with Emily, but he was older. Stronger. But more vulnerable, in a way. He had lost more.

Eventually, with both women, Nikolas had gone toward love. And life. He had stepped up and risked everything.

Liz didn't know how long Claudia was going to be in Port Charles. But Liz was going to make sure to find out as much as she could about Claudia. To see beyond the bullet points, and learn about the woman Nikolas loved.

* * *

General Hospital. Sam's Examination Room.

"I'd like you to try to stand," the doctor said to Sam.

"Are you kidding?," Alexis said.

"Yes, Alexis, this is Happy the Clown-Doctor," Sam snarked. "He's here for our amusement." When Alexis didn't snark back, Sam felt guilty. "Sorry," she said.

Sam got up. She slowly shifted her weight to the leg which had been shot. Painful. But not insurmountable. She shifted her weight again, and tried to walk.

"That's good enough for now," the doctor said, interrupting Sam's efforts. Damn, Sam thought. Not only wasn't she allowed to walk, but the doctor was letting her know this in front of Alexis and Nikolas. There was no way Nikolas was going to let her back on the case.

The doctor handed Sam two pills and a cup of water. Sam wrinkled her nose. The doctor didn't budge. Sam took the pills and chased them with the water.

The doctor scribbled on a prescription pad. He handed the prescription to Sam. "We're going to keep you overnight. Just a precaution. But I'd like you to continue with the pills, and I'm putting you on crutches.

Sam groaned.

"You're welcome," the doctor said.

"Thank you," Sam answered belatedly.

The doctor left.

"Ric was there," Sam immediately said to Nikolas.

"With the police?"

"No. Before. Just before. I can try to find out if the two things were related." Sam's voice trailed off at the sight of her mother's Outrage Face. "I only have to ask a few questions. It's not like I'll be dodging bullets any time soon."

"Don't make any phone calls until I have your phone examined," Nikolas said.

"Yes, sir," Sam said.

Alexis' eyes narrowed. She was missing a wealth of information here. About Anthony Zacchara. About the work Sam was doing for Nikolas. Alexis wasn't surprised to be left out of the loop -- she'd asked her whole family for the courtesy. But the loop seemed to be becoming a noose. Any more of this, and Alexis would step down as D.A. She'd need to know what was going on.

"I need to go back," Nikolas said.

"Yeah. Sure. Of course," Sam said, understandingly.

"Alexis," Nikolas said. "May I speak with you for a moment?" He beckoned to her from the door of the room.

"I'll be right back," Alexis said to Sam. "Please don't move. And please don't get into any trouble."

By the time Sam opened her mouth to object, Alexis was already at the door with Nikolas.

"What?," Alexis said.

"That was the last time," Nikolas said.

Alexis looked at him, puzzled.

"You can't talk about Claudia like that ever again," he said.

"Like what?," Alexis said.

Nikolas just stared at her.

"Nikolas, I'm a little loopy from stress. You're going to have to be specific."

"Lie. Down. With. Animals," he said.

Alexis winced as she remembered. "In my own defense, I think I should get a special dispensation for abject fear."

"She has never treated you with anything other than respect after that first time on Spoon Island."

"That's not totally true. She --"

"Has never spoken about you the way you spoke about her tonight. That was it. That was the last time."

Nikolas left the room without waiting for an answer.

"What was that about?," Sam asked.

"Oh, I said something about Claudia. It was a little overboard."

"Define 'a little.'"

"You see, here's where you might think you're getting away with getting shot because you're turning the conversation around on me."

"Nikolas seemed ticked."

Alexis capitulated. "I said that this was what happens when you lie down with animals."

"The context being..."

"You got shot because Nikolas was --"

"Wow."

"Stop that."

"You really don't have an edit button, do you?"

"Not when my daughter is shot."

"I appreciate your ... concern -- it _is_ concern, isn't it?-- but I'm fine."

"Really."

Sam didn't know when she'd opened herself up to the onslaught, but she knew by the look on Alexis' face ... the lecture was here.

"Nico. Shot. Run down by a car. Shot again."

"What? Nikolas left the room, so I'm the only one left for whipping?"

"Why would you do this? Why would you take on Anthony Zacchara?"

"I wasn't taking him on. I was watching him. Until your insane boyfriend decided to come in with the sirens blasting." Sam's jaw dropped as she realized what that look on Alexis' face meant. "You!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Alexis said.

"You're the reason Mac sent the police."

"See, now you're reading too much into something that --"

"Nikolas is going to figure this out." Sam was almost gloating.

"He already has," Alexis said, deflating.

"Really? He seemed more angry about the animal thing."

"That's because he's blaming himself for the police intervention."

Sam was once again very, very grateful not to have the convoluted emotions that every other Cassadine seemed to have. "You know, Claudia's family might actually think of the Cassadines as animals. Didn't Helena fry Claudia's friend's brain?"

"Keep it up and I'll let Nikolas know that you're still seeing Jason."

Sam swore under her breath.

"I'm very good," Alexis said. She sighed, looking sincerely at Sam. "You're really okay?"

"I am," Sam said.

"Good. You don't mind if I stay with you, do you?"

"As long as there are no more lectures."

"I'll do my best."

Oh, God. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

General Hospital. Fourth Floor. Empty Exam Room.

Nikolas ran his hand along the cold steel counter.

He had failed. He had failed Sam. Failed Alexis.

But even worse, he had failed Claudia. He didn't know where Anthony was.

Claudia said it wasn't his fault.

But once she heard everything, he didn't know how he was going to face her.

Anthony had torn at Claudia's self-respect, at her trust, at her ability to love. And Nikolas had let him get away.

Control. Nikolas had no control. Not a good place for a Cassadine. Especially when it concerned someone he loved.

He wished he could lie. He wished he could tell Claudia that her father had been taken care of. He wished he could tell Spencer that his brother was all better. He wished he could tell Jonah that they were going home now.

But all he had was the unbearable knowledge that he couldn't help anyone. He never could.

There was something about the way he and Claudia worked together. She made him believe he was a great father. An extraordinary man. She made him believe he was invincible. That he was so powerful that this woman, who'd avoided love her whole life, was in love with him. This woman, who lied to everyone, was helpless in his presence and told only the truth.

He hadn't even heard about Anthony's release from prison until it was too late. This would never have happened to Stefan. His uncle would have known the exact moment of Anthony's release. He would have had Anthony eliminated and then dropped the news casually to Claudia over a gothic candlelit dinner. Then again, Nikolas wasn't Stefan's son. He was the son of Stavros. Who wreaked havoc and then ultimately failed.

When Nikolas was with Emily, he mainly invoked his Cassadine-ness for grand romantic gestures. Courtney made him forget he was a Cassadine. But Claudia... Claudia had let him reinvent what it meant to be a Cassadine. Someone powerful, yes, but not given to grandiose narcissistic plots. Someone capable of the sort of love that grew stronger, that wasn't obsessive to the point of suffocation.

Claudia was his first partner in everything. Love, sex, family and business. He was the same for her. They talked about it sometimes. How intoxicating it was to be able to share every moment. The safer he felt, the more comfortable he was taking risks. He started leaving some things to chance. Making business moves when he was unsure of the outcome. Taking drives without any known destination. Letting her take charge when she needed to. Giving Spencer's spirit the room to grow. And miraculously, all of those things made him stronger, more powerful.

More arrogant. Too arrogant. Claudia said she loved his arrogance. But it had left them all open to danger. To loss.

Claudia was going to take over now. She needed that revenge. And he was going to lose her.

Nikolas squared his shoulders. He stilled his thoughts. He would not lose her. No matter what the cost.

He steeled himself, and stepped out into the hallway.

* * *

G.H. Jonah and Nikolas' Room.

Matt had gone home. No one had mentioned any names, but Claudia figured it out. Lucky was waiting for them to come home.

Liz insisted on staying for a little while longer. Just in case Jonah woke up.

Jonah was still asleep. But he wasn't sleeping the way he normally did. From way back in the womb, Jonah was constantly in motion. As an infant, his feet kicked in his little cradle. When he nursed, his fists clenched and unclenched.

Right now, Claudia was grateful for the rise and fall of his chest.

"Sono qui, piccolo," she whispered to him. _I'm right here, piccolo._

He didn't stir.

Liz adjusted Jonah's saline I.V. She looked up and caught Claudia watching her.

"They haven't even had colds," Claudia said. "Spencer broke his arm once, but that's it. We live pretty much in paradise. I think I got used to perfection."

Liz couldn't remember a single instance of Claudia ever really talking to her. Unless she counted the time in the ambulance when she'd gotten on Claudia's case for putting Matt in danger. "We've had colds," Liz said warily. "But nothing big."

Claudia nodded. "Even John, you know, my brother -- even he never got sick. Really sick." She looked into Liz's eyes. "I don't want to talk to Nikolas about this. Because of Emily and Courtney."

Here goes nothing, Liz thought. "You should talk to Laura," she said.

Claudia had heard the story. About how Lulu needed a bone marrow transplant, how the Spencers found out about Nikolas. Nikolas had saved Lulu's life. "Maybe I will," Claudia said. She turned away from Liz, back to Jonah, ending the conversation.

Before Port Charles, Claudia would have gone right to Laura with her questions. But she was confused now. Laura had always been so comfortable. Safe. Just like Nikolas. _"You're like Nikolas,"_ Claudia had said, when she and Laura had first met. Laura had kept Claudia and Jonah safe. She'd pretty much sanctioned Nikolas' relationship with Claudia. But more than that, Laura had treated Claudia like family. At least that's what Claudia had thought.

Things were growing complicated now. Uncomfortable.

She sort of knew that Alexis never _really_ liked or accepted her. It took Sam getting shot to bring out the truth. _"This is what happens when you lie down with animals." _That's what Alexis had said. There was no doubt who the animal was in this scenario.

There was no question where Lucky stood. At least he wasn't a hypocrite. He'd never been to the Island, treating her one way there, and another here.

Claudia wondered what Mike would be like when she saw him. Everyone was fine on the Island. They weren't exactly solicitous, but they treated Claudia like a human being. She didn't know what was up with who now. People were getting harder to figure out. They were still easy to read, but they were now harder to figure out.

Lulu was kind of a wild card. _"Do you need a lawyer?," _she had asked. Lulu was the same here as she'd been in Greece. She might not like Claudia, but she considered her family.

Leslie seemed okay. The same. Hard to tell. Claudia didn't really know Leslie, except as a really good houseguest who looked a little like a hippie.

When Claudia had been arrested, no one had come for her. Alexis had come across her at the PCPD, and had gotten Ned. But that was common courtesy. Probably because of Nikolas.

When someone finally came, it was Ned. A business associate. And Claudia knew her place now.

She had hoped that Sam would stay with Nikolas when he was shot. Clearly that hadn't happened. But when Laura hadn't shown up at the police station, Claudia began to hope that Laura was with Nikolas. Or Spencer.

Which led to another uncomfortable thought. No one had told her where Spencer was. It seemed no one but their little Greek family thought of Spencer as Claudia's son. Except, apparently, for Dr. Doukas.

But the worst, the absolute worst part about Nikolas' family was the fact that no one had stayed by his side after he was shot. Sure, Monica Quartermaine had been by his side, but she wasthe head of the hospital. After the anesthesia debacle, she might have been worried about a lawsuit. Who knew what the deal was there?

Everyone else -- they knew how alone Nikolas had been his whole life. They knew how he'd been left. How he'd been abandoned. Laura had gone to Lucky, leaving Nikolas alone again. Story of Nikolas' life.

She owed Laura her life. But somewhere along the way, Claudia had confused compassion with love. She'd been without a mother for so long, that the first time she'd been presented with a new one, she'd grabbed on with both hands.

The truth was that Claudia had a family now. It was just a small one. Claudia, Nikolas, Spencer, Jonah. And that was more than she'd ever expected. She'd latched on to Laura right when she'd lost John, but no one could ever make up for that loss. She saw that now. And no one could take away the fact that Claudia hadn't had a mother since she was a child. And now she never would.

She was on the other side of things now. She just hoped she was inventing motherhood well enough for Jonah and Spencer.

"Claudia," Liz said.

Claudia turned to Liz. Liz was standing by the door to the room. And the man from Interpol now stood behind her.

"Mrs. Cassadine," he said.

Claudia nodded at him. "It's okay, Liz. You can leave. But if you see Nikolas..."

Liz was surprised to find herself trusting Claudia's motives. "I'll tell him to come back here."

"Thanks," Claudia said.

Liz left the room.

"Agent Greco. You have the footage? Of my father?"

"No." There was a short knock at the door, followed by two longer ones. "Un attimo." _One moment._ Agent Greco opened the door again, and the Scotland Yard Inspector entered. "I believe you've met my colleague," Agent Greco said, introducing the newcomer, "Inspector Bryce."

Claudia's jaw dropped. This new guy wasn't exactly a newcomer. Claudia quickly recovered. "Not formally," she said, a little belatedly. She wished she could see Luke's face when he found out he'd had an international agent busted by Wyndham's security.

"May we?" Agent Greco gestured to the chairs furthest from Jonah's bed.

"I prefer to wait until my husband --"

The door opened, and Nikolas came in. He looked at the two agents, and then at Claudia.

She saw the fear hit his eyes as soon as he looked at her. "What is it?," she said.

He touched his shirt, and she looked down at her own. Blood.

"The blood blister," she said.

He went to Jonah's bed, resting his hand on the railing. Claudia joined him.

"He's okay now. They gave him something." She covered his hand with her own. "Everything okay?," Claudia asked.

Nikolas nodded. He gestured to the agents. "Почему они здесь?" _What's this?_

"Я не уверен," Claudia answered. _I'm not sure._

"Мы думали, что пришло время положить свои карты на стол," Agent Greco said. _We thought it was time to put our cards on the table._

"Мы надеемся, вы будете делать то же самое," Agent Bryce said. _We're hoping you will do the same._

Claudia and Nikolas looked at each other. Nikolas took Claudia's hand and they sat down, across from the agents.


	20. Chapter 20

General Hospital. Jonah's Room.

"Okay. Let's see your cards," Claudia said.

Agent Greco and Inspector Bryce glanced at each other and then looked again at Nikolas and Claudia.

"We'd like permission to sweep this room for recording devices," Agent Greco said.

"Absolutely not," Nikolas said.

"Pardon?," Inspector Bryce said.

"How do we know that we can trust either one of you?," Claudia said. "You could plant something while you're 'sweeping'."

"And even if we could trust you, and we let you sweep the room," Nikolas said, "your sweep would have the opposite of its intended effect."

"If the room is bugged now," Claudia explained, "the two of you would become targets. Helena Cassadine and my father tend to eliminate people working against them."

There was a brief silence.

"I find it interesting that you are so magnanimous with your concerns," Agent Greco said. "Obviously, you don't think this room has been bugged."

"We know it has," Claudia said.

"We've already removed all recording devices," Nikolas said.

Agent Greco removed a small handheld device from his jacket pocket.

Claudia squinted at the device. It looked vaguely familiar.

Agent Greco dropped a miniature pedestal from the bottom of the device. He turned on the device and placed it on the floor. The device turned around, shooting out very thin laser beams in random patterns.

"Oh my God," Claudia said.

"You do good work," Agent Greco said.

"It hasn't been released yet," Claudia said, her heart pounding.

"We couldn't wait."

Claudia stared at Agent Greco.

"Claudia?," Nikolas said.

"Fiber optics," she said.

Nikolas blanched. It was one of their own devices. From Cassadine Industries.

The device came to a stop and let out a low buzz.

"Congratulations," Agent Greco said. "You were right. The room is clean." He folded the pedestal back into the device, and tucked the device back into his pocket. "We've had men inside your scientific development companies ever since your family tried to alter the earth's atmosphere."

"I knew that whole 'freeze the world' thing would come back to bite us," Claudia said to Nikolas.

Nikolas rolled his eyes and then turned his attention back to the agents. "What can we do for you, gentlemen?"

"We've lost Mr. Zacchara," Agent Greco said. "And you?"

Claudia kept her eyes straight ahead. She was unreadable. But Nikolas knew: she was holding her breath.

Nikolas paused, hating for Claudia to learn it this way. "We've lost him too," Nikolas said.

Claudia's grip on his hand tightened.

Inspector Bryce coughed, and everyone's attention turned to him. "I suppose I should begin by explaining my presence at Wyndham's," he said to Claudia.

Nikolas glanced sideways at Claudia.

"A little adventure with your stepfather the day I picked up Spencer," she explained, all languages besides English seeming superfluous at this point.

"I was following your wife," Inspector Bryce said. "Because we weren't certain of the motives of all the parties involved."

"Meaning?" Nikolas asked.

"We didn't know who to trust," Agent Greco said.

"And now you do?," Claudia asked.

"We think so."

Claudia laughed.

"You'll have to excuse my wife's skepticism," Nikolas said. "You're not as experienced as we are with these particular circumstances. We're suspicious of everyone."

"Except each other," Agent Greco rejoined.

Claudia and Nikolas took too long to answer.

Agent Greco sat back in his seat, satisfied. Had either one of the Cassadines been crossing the other, they both would have jumped in too quickly. As it was, they were now reacting like a couple who hadn't had enough time to put a game plan together. Because they had a sick child.

Agent Greco crossed his arms. "What do you hope to gain by having the world believe that only Mrs. Cassadine knows of Helena's recent missive?"

Claudia looked at him blankly. "What missive?"

Agent Greco stared evenly at Claudia. "We captured Helena Cassadine's deputy after he dropped off an envelope on Spoon Island. He refuses to reveal anything, but we know the envelope was addressed to you."

The Cassadines were silent.

"No one else at either of our agencies knows about that envelope," Agent Greco said. Then he nodded at Bryce.

"The United States government has mishandled both Anthony Zacchara and Helena Cassadine from the start," Inspector Bryce began. "We suspect that someone inside a government agency has been helping either Mr. Zacchara and Mrs. Cassadine. Perhaps both."

"You think the same," Agent Greco pointed out to Nikolas and Claudia. "You said as much the first day I interviewed you."

"We also believe the international agencies may have a leak too," Inspector Bryce said.

Agent Greco continued. "We have found recording devices in Dr. Monica Quartermaine's office, Dr. Matt Hunter's office, and in the oncology laboratory. We removed the video equipment, but allowed the audio equipment to remain."

At that, Claudia's mouth quirked into a bitter smile.

"You find our efforts amusing, Mrs. Cassadine?"

"I find them useless."

"Not if you work with us."

"In the interest of full disclosure," Inspector Bryce said, "I feel we should let you know that we found that Dr. Lee's examination room was also tapped."

Nikolas and Claudia froze. And then Nikolas' thumb stroked the back of Claudia's hand. He leaned in toward the agents. "Have you discovered the source?"

"Too many layers of subterfuge. It would take two dedicated men a year to track the source down. We don't have that kind of time."

"No," Nikolas said. "We don't."

"Unless you have technology that might --"

"Not yet," Claudia said quietly.

"It's a few years away," Nikolas said. "But I presume you already knew that."

"Inspector Bryce is new to this investigation," Agent Greco said. "He joined when Helena Cassadine decided to illegally traffic pharmaceuticals out of his country."

"I believe she intended to use Mrs. Petrides as a guinea pig of some sort," Inspector Bryce said. "The London authorities don't appreciate having our country corrupted that way."

"Inspector Bryce contacted our agency directly. He and I thought it best to limit all intelligence to the two of us. And now you two as well."

Inspector Bryce smiled at Claudia, which was not lost on Nikolas.

Claudia, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice at all. Her eyes were too busy narrowing at Agent Greco. "And you expect us to believe you because..."

"Because you are otherwise engaged," Agent Greco said gently, indicating Jonah. "You need allies. And we are your best option."

The Cassadines didn't speak.

Inspector Bryce leaned forward. "We have some questions. We hope you can answer them."

Nikolas and Claudia exchanged another look. Nikolas nodded almost imperceptibly. They turned back to the Inspector.

"Ask your questions," Nikolas said. "And we'll answer what we can. But then we'll have some questions to ask of you."

"The police who tried to capture Mr. Zacchara tonight went in with their sirens blaring," Inspector Bryce said. "Do you believe this was to tip him off?"

"No," Nikolas answered. "That would be strictly due to the incompetence of the Port Charles Police Department."

Claudia muttered something unintelligible.

"Why would the local police move now?," Agent Greco asked. "Without any agency support?"

"It was a chess move," Nikolas said. "I sued them. They removed our police protection as retaliation. And then they realized their mistake."

"Their actions helped your case. The removal of police protection made them seem as if they were acting out of personal motives."

"Yes."

"So Mr. Zacchara's arrest would have...?"

"...would have explained why the police detail was pulled away from us," Claudia said, figuring it out as she spoke. "They didn't have the manpower to guard us because they were concentrating on the capture of my father." She looked at Nikolas.

"Yes," he said.

Claudia could tell that underneath his cool exterior, Nikolas was devastated. The hand which held hers had become clammy. And he was looking her in the eye, but his expression was a little too cold. He was hiding something. His despair.

She squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"Our turn. What's your goal?," Claudia said, turning back abruptly to the agents.

"Beg pardon?," Inspector Bryce said.

"What do you get out of this?"

"We want to deliver Mr. Zacchara to the Italian authorities, and Mrs. Helena Cassadine to the British authorities," Agent Greco said.

Nikolas stared at him.

"Mr. Cassadine?"

"Why do you think those actions are the best recourse?," Nikolas asked slowly.

"Because -- as everyone in this room knows -- any punishment the American authorities mete out will only be temporary."

* * *

Kelly's.

Half an hour had gone by, Lulu washing dishes and Lucky manning the grill.

When they had arrived, separately, but within minutes of each other, Mike had said he had to go out for awhile, and asked them to be gentle while they held down the fort.

After the last of the dinner crowd had gone, Lucky had ventured out of the back.

He watched Lulu wipe down the counter.

"Well," he said. "I know why I'm here. What happened to you?"

Lulu picked up a butter knife and scraped at a stubborn and ugly clump of dried something -- probably ketchup. She looked like she hadn't heard Lucky -- which he knew couldn't be true. But he waited.

Sure enough, once the clump came up...

"I was fired," she said. "Because, you know, everyone else at that damn company gets time for personal emergencies except me. I think I had the wrong personal emergency. If I had needed a haircut, or a manicure, that probably would've counted for something."

Lulu picked up the clump with a napkin and tossed it into the garbage.

"It's a good week for Spencers," she said, facing him as she put her hand on her hip.

"It could be worse," Lucky said. "We could be on the run."

"Or have a parent in the hospital." The moment the words were out of her mouth, Lulu turned red.

"It's okay," Lucky said. "Might as well say hello to the elephant in the room."

Lulu looked at the kitchen entrance and said, "Hello."

"How's Jonah?," Lucky asked.

"Worse," she said. "But that's supposed to be a good thing. The treatment won't work unless he's lost his immune system."

"Nikolas?"

"He's okay on the outside. I think Claudia is the only one who knows what's going on inside him."

Lucky hopped up on a stool at the counter. "You like her now?"

"I don't know," Lulu said. "She's still nasty. Doesn't miss a chance to insult me. But it's weird. She only does that when we're on even ground now."

Lucky cocked his head. "What does that mean?"

Lulu hopped up on the stool next to him. "She doesn't like me. But she's different. I mean, she's all alone now. Except for Nikolas and the kids. And Mom."

"You feel sorry for her."

"No, that's not what I'm -- She doesn't want Nikolas to be alone. She doesn't want him to lose his family. So she makes sure we're all comfortable being with him. Even if it means she bites her tongue, or leaves the room to let us talk alone. It's like she doesn't want him to end up like her."

"So she doesn't want him to murder people..."

She hit him with her counter rag. "She loves him."

"He saved her life."

"She was going to give him Jonah regardless."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, even if she died, Nikolas was going to get Jonah. Saving Claudia's life was Nikolas' idea. Claudia was getting ready to die."

Lucky smirked.

"What?," Lulu asked.

"Like she didn't know he has a chivalry complex." He had to move quickly to dodge the rag this time.

"She was really going to die. And she was going to take down the mob so Sonny wouldn't get custody and the Zaccharas wouldn't get custody. But don't take my word for it. Ask Nikolas. He has all the evidence on file. Just don't expect him to hand it over to anyone official. That evidence is what's keeping Jonah and Claudia safe."

* * *

Harborview Towers. Sonny's Apartment.

When Sonny opened the door, he had a gun pointed at his father. When Sonny saw who was there, he lowered the gun.

"What do you want, Mike?"

Mike really wasn't looking forward to this talk. It was going to open up a lot of old wounds. And even though Sonny had put the gun away, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from shooting a few accusations in Mike's direction.

"We need to talk, Sonny."

Sonny's expression became closed off. "Nikolas Cassadine send you here?"

"Can I come in?"

Sonny shook his head in disbelief. Then he swung the door open wider.

Mike couldn't help taking in the apartment as he entered. He'd been here dozens of times, but each time was like a kick in the gut. A reminder of everything Sonny had lost. As if the lack of guards wasn't indicator enough.

The apartment had belonged to Dr. Matt Hunter. When Dr. Hunter had moved in with Elizabeth Webber, Sonny had just finished selling GreyStone -- at a huge loss. The economy had been at its worst. Sonny had had no choice. He'd lost almost everything, and he needed as much money as he could get his hands on right away. He was too vulnerable without money.

Once GreyStone was sold, he'd gone looking for a new place. Jason had offered him a place to stay, but Sonny wanted to make some plans for the future right then. He bought the largest apartment he could safely afford. Where he could live alone. For now. There was an extra bedroom. For any one of his children. So far there hadn't been any takers.

Mike studied Sonny. This talk was probably going to fall on deaf ears, but Mike had promised Nikolas. Mike was pretty positive that Nikolas hadn't ordered Mike to have this conversation. Nikolas held access to two of Mike's grandchildren in his hands -- one of them Courtney's only child -- but he would never use it as leverage. Nikolas would never threaten to take that access away; he believed that Mike's connection to Spencer and Jonah was necessary.

But Nikolas also believed that Sonny's access to either child was dangerous. That was why he had sent Mike here.

Mike disagreed with Nikolas. The photos Sonny had wanted Morgan to take were a mistake. Sonny would never hurt a child of his own, or a child of Courtney.

Mike sat down on the couch.

"Just get it over with," Sonny said. "Tell me what Cassadine wants."

Mike tried to say it as gently as he could. "You need to let Jonah go."

"Like you let me go? Like you let my mother go?"

Mike had expected this, but it still cut him to the quick.

"Anthony Zacchara wants Jonah," Sonny said.

"He'll never have him."

"The only way my son is going to escape that madman is by dying. Death. Or Anthony. I'm not accepting either possibility, Mike."

"Neither are his parents."

"Nikolas is not his parent! He's not his father! He never was!"

"Like you were never Michael's?," Mike asked softly.

"That's different," Sonny said evenly, shutting down.

"How?," Mike prodded.

"I'm not going to get into this with you."

"You need to get into it with someone, Sonny, because I'm watching my son die inside, slowly. And I'm not accepting that possibility."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how ever since you lost your business, you're acting like you lost your life. And I'm afraid you're pinning your comeback on that little boy in the hospital."

"I care about my son!"

"I know you do. I'm not saying you don't. I'm saying that if you were with someone --"

"I don't want to hear it." Mike was about to go off on a Carly tangent, and Sonny didn't think he could take it.

"I'm worried about you, Michael."

The front door to the apartment unlocked from the outside and swung open.

"Mike. Good to see you." Rebecca came in, closing the door behind her, and dumping her shopping bags.

Funny how hostile "Good to see you" sounded, coming out of her mouth.

"Rebecca."

Sonny shot a look at Mike.

"Always a pleasure," Mike added, belatedly.

Rebecca laughed. "Wow. You really sound like you mean it."

"Look, I'm sorry, Rebecca, but we were in the middle of a private conversation --"

"Mike was just leaving," Sonny interrupted.

"Sonny..."

"Tell Nikolas Cassadine I got the message. Loud and clear. And that he's messed with me and my son for the last time."

"Sonny, please," Mike pleaded.

Sonny headed for the bar.

"Sonny --"

"Go!"

Mike stared at Sonny's back. Then he reluctantly got up, went to the door, and left.

"Bye, _Dad,_" Rebecca said as the door closed behind him.

Sonny hoisted the brandy decanter. Studied it. And threw it against the fireplace, shattering it into a million pieces.

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah's Room.

Nikolas was using all of his strength to keep from smirking. But he was pretty sure it wasn't working -- at least as far as Claudia was concerned. Interpol agreed with him; the only way to handle Anthony and Helena was to get them on European soil.

He didn't dare look at Claudia. He was fairly certain that she was mentally castigating him for looking so smug -- even if she was the only one who could see said smug look. Although, on the other hand, she did find his arrogance attractive, so maybe it would pay off in other ways.

"What do you want from us?," Claudia asked Agent Greco.

"Two things," Agent Greco said. "One: we need the incident at Mrs. Zacchara's clinic to be kept quiet until Mr. Zacchara is safely in Italy. We need for Mr. Zacchara to believe that Europe is safe for him. Otherwise, we will never get him on the continent. The victims' families have already agreed to this."

"All of the victims' families but one," Nikolas said quietly.

"Yes. Of course," Inspector Bryce quickly added.

Claudia stared ahead, her expression blank. Then she looked at Nikolas.

"Okay," she said. She turned back to Agent Greco. "Do what you need to do."

"No one may know that Mrs. Zacchara is dead."

"We got you the first time," Claudia said, a little too sharply.

She turned away from them, toward Nikolas. Nikolas waited, ready to end the conversation at any moment. Once again, he was overcome by the same outrage he had felt when Claudia was going blithely to her death, and no one cared. No one seemed to think Claudia was human. It turned his stomach.

Something about the expression on Nikolas' face seemed to steady Claudia. She nodded at Nikolas. She could handle this.

Nikolas turned back to Agent Greco. "Two things," he said. "You said you needed two things. What was the other?"

"We need you to set a trap for whomever set up the recording devices at this hospital," Inspector Bryce said.

Nikolas did not like the way Inspector Bryce only looked at Claudia when he said that. "Cassadine Industries is at your disposal," Nikolas said.

With that, Inspector Bryce reluctantly tore his gaze away from Claudia. Nikolas was beginning to suspect that Inspector Bryce was attracted to Claudia. Nikolas didn't know which possibility filled him with more rage: the possibility that Interpol was about to put Claudia in danger, or the possibility that the Inspector was ogling Nikolas' wife. Right now, Inspector Bryce was opening and shutting his mouth like one of those giant goldfish in an aquarium, unable to speak, but knowing he was supposed to.

"We specifically need Mrs. Cassadine's help. Mrs. Claudia Cassadine." Apparently, Agent Greco had no trouble speaking.

"Out of the question," Nikolas said coolly.

"Mr. Cassadine," Agent Greco said. "We're asking Mrs. Cassadine."

He quickly glanced at Claudia. She looked like the cat who had swallowed the canary. Of course she did. Putting herself in danger was her favorite pastime. And now she had a whole international agency on her side in the argument.

"Would I be in danger?," Claudia asked.

"No," Agent Greco and Inspector Bryce said simultaneously.

"Nikolas?"

Nikolas looked at Claudia. She was asking for his approval. Claudia was asking for his approval. Nikolas felt his whole body relax.

"I'll permit it," he said.

She laughed. The word "permit" was a running joke between the two them, ever since Nikolas had tried to use it on his mother.

Claudia turned back to Agent Greco and Inspector Bryce. "When would you need me to do this?"

"Tomorrow morning," Inspector Bryce said, apparently having recovered his voice.

"Now that," Claudia said, "is out of the question."

"Because you have your own plans," Agent Greco said shrewdly.

"Because we have a child who is about to have his worst day of chemotherapy," Nikolas said. "Until Jonah is on the mend, he is our priority."

"Mrs. Cassadine?," Inspector Bryce asked.

Claudia pulled her hand from Nikolas' and leaned forward in her chair.

"I'm only going to say this once," she said, in a vaguely threatening tone. "It's up to you whether or not you remember it. We --" Her finger wagged back and forth from Nikolas to herself. "--speak for each other. If my husband gives you an answer, that's my answer. And visa versa. As far as you are concerned, we are one person. You won't be able to play us off each other. If you try to, you'll only piss us off and alienate us. Understood?" Claudia took Nikolas' hand in hers again.

The Cassadines stared silently at the agents, unreadable.

"We believe that if we don't act now, you will be under siege at the hospital," Agent Greco said, finally. "Both Mrs. Cassadine -- the senior Mrs. Cassadine -- and Mr. Zacchara have been known to use pressure when they are lacking information. If we feed them information now, it may satisfy them until your son is better. We're only looking to provoke them into a small move. One which will let us know who is behind the tapping."

Claudia and Nikolas instinctively looked toward Jonah. Then they looked at each other.

"Excuse us for a moment," Nikolas said to the Interpol men.

Nikolas and Claudia got up and went to Jonah's bed. They began to talk in hushed tones.

When they were finished, Claudia reached out and brushed Jonah's hair from his forehead. Nikolas straightened Jonah's blanket. Then he took Claudia's hand and led her back to their seats.

"All right," Claudia said. "Tomorrow morning."

"Excellent," Inspector Bryce said. "Now, as to the details --"

"One more moment, if you would," Nikolas said.

"Give a little, get a little," Claudia said.

"Before we get started with your plan," Nikolas said, "you'll need to do something for us."

* * *

General Hospital. Sam's Room.

Jason had tried to slip in as quietly as possible. But Alexis turned toward him as soon as he opened the door.

"She's sleeping," she said.

"How is she?"

"Insane," she answered. "And you. What were you thinking, letting her go after Anthony Zacchara all alone?"

"That's not what happened."

"Well," Alexis said, in her best lawyer's voice, "enlighten me. What happened?"

"Jason?"

They both turned toward Sam.

"What are you doing here?," Sam said. "If anyone connects you with me --"

"It's my problem," Jason said.

Sam looked pointedly at Alexis.

"Oh," Alexis said. "I'm sorry. Did you want me to leave?"

"Just for a little while," Sam said. "Don't go too far."

"Believe me," Alexis said. "I don't plan to."

"Who has Molly?," Jason asked.

Alexis looked at him suspiciously. "Kate. Why?"

"Ric was in town," Sam said.

Jason stared at her.

"Did he leave?," Sam asked Jason.

"Yes."

"Glad to be in the loop," Alexis said, standing up. "Apparently a few hours late, but I'm in the loop now. I'm going to call Kate. I'll be back." She looked at Sam. "Don't move."

Sam waved good-bye.

Alexis left.

Jason sat down next to Sam.

"I was fine the whole time," Sam said.

"Are you done with Anthony Zacchara?"

"Nikolas wants me to be. Do you?"

"I'm not going to tell you what to do."

"Great."

"I'm just going to ask you why you're going out of your way to risk your life like this."

"That's not what I'm doing."

"Okay."

"I'm not."

"You do this with kids," he said. "Ever since you can't have any, you go out of your way to protect them, even if it means you could die."

"What? Are you becoming a shrink now? 'Cause I gotta tell you, you suck at it."

"Look," Jason said. "I can't stay. People will be watching me. Just promise me you won't do anything without telling me about it."

"You sound like my mother."

"Sam."

"Fine. I'll let you know."

"Good. You're sure you're okay?"

"I can even walk. Wanna see?"

He smiled. "No. You need a guard?"

"I'm pretty sure Nikolas has got a couple lying around. I'll ask him for one."

He nodded. Kissed her. And left.

Sam had exactly one second to look around the room, and then Alexis came back in. Carrying a copy of Cosmo.

"Oh God," Sam said.

"It's all I could find in a two minute walk," Alexis said, sitting down. "And it's for me. Molly is fine, by the way."

"I knew she would be," Sam said, taking the magazine from Alexis. "She's a Davis."

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah's Room.

They were alone again with Jonah, sitting in the same seats they had been in when the agents left.

Claudia was hiding something from Nikolas. He could tell that much. The only question was whether it was an emotion or a plan.

Claudia looked into Nikolas' eyes. She looked devastated.

Nikolas was immediately overcome by regret.

"I'm sorry," he said.

A puzzled expression flitted across her face.

"I let him go."

Her face softened in understanding. "Trust me, Nikolas, there's no way to let my father go. I've been trying since birth."

"We had him. And you said -- you said --"

"I say a lot of things. Here's one more: you did the best that anyone could do."

"I could have had him killed."

Claudia was silent for a moment. "I don't want that for you," she said.

"Want what for me?"

She rested her hand on his chest, right over his heart. "It damages you to do that. Believe me, that's one experience I don't want us to share."

"What about you?," he said.

"I'm already damaged," she said. "Beyond repair. Let me handle the stuff that wrecks the soul."

"You said you can't handle the aftermath anymore."

"I can handle anything if it keeps you three safe."

Nikolas' eyes went cold. "Three," he said. He looked away from her. "'You three.' Not 'we five.'"

Claudia's heart dropped. She put her hand to his cheek and turned his face to hers, so that he was looking in her eyes. "Hey," she said. "I will never leave you. First of all, I'm practically Rasputin, so it's not like anyone's going to off me any time soon."

"That's your reasoning? You've managed to survive numerous attempts on your life, so you're indestructible? That's supposed to comfort me?"

"No," she said. "But I love you. I love our family. I could never let you go."

He shook his head. "That's not how it works."

"Well, that's how it had better work," she said, her voice rising in volume a little.

Nikolas was about to argue, when Claudia's attention shifted.

She looked toward Jonah. At all of the equipment surrounding him. She looked down, at her shirt. Her hand hovered over the blood stain. She looked up at him again and shook her head. "We're killing him."

And Nikolas suddenly understood. Claudia wasn't hiding some secret plan. This was what Claudia had been hiding. An emotion. Fear.

Nikolas grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet as he got to his. He pulled her into a tight hug.

"He doesn't look right," she said.

"It's so the transplant will work."

"What if that doesn't happen in time?"

This was new. Something must have happened while he was out of the room. He pulled back and looked her in the eye. "What happened?"

She shivered. And she shook her head. "I don't want to hurt you," she said.

"I'm his father."

"I know." Claudia pulled away from him. "But it's too much. It's too much for me, and I'm not the one who keeps watching people die in this place." She turned away from him and began to gather up the toys and books scattered on the rug, putting them back in their proper places.

Nikolas went to her side, took Jonah's _Sailing and Me_ book from her hand, took her hand, and gently pulled her down on to the rug, so that they sat across from each other.

She turned away from him for a moment, and then turned back and looked straight into his eyes.

His eyes softened as he watched her steel herself. He took her hand in both of his.

"I'm sorry," she said, taking a deep breath and failing miserably to compose herself. "I don't know this works."

"No one does," Nikolas said. "Everyone just pretends to."

"Well, this is probably the one thing I can't pretend about."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Okay. All right. But the other thing is only with you."

He smiled, and then looked down at the rug, as if he were studying its design. "Courtney's the only one I lost here. Lulu got better. Emily got better."

He looked back up at her.

She nodded. "I messed up today."

"You?," he said, in mock disbelief. "Impossible."

"Shut up," she said absentmindedly.

"What happened?," he asked again, softly.

She hesitated for only a moment. "He couldn't breathe," she said, pulling her hand from his. "He was coughing -- he couldn't catch his breath -- the blood kept coming." Her hand fluttered to her throat. "And I knew it was the blister -- Matt told us it was going to happen. But Nikolas, Jonah was helpless. He was so scared. And Liz and Matt --"

"What?"

"Matt came at Jonah with this spray. For the back of his throat. I asked Matt to explain what he was going to do, with the spray. And he and Liz, they said we didn't have time for that, but I made them explain it anyway." She looked away from him, up at Jonah's bed.

He took her face in his hands and made her look into his eyes. "Jonah would have never let Matt do anything unless he understood."

"I think they were going to force his mouth open. But I couldn't --"

"He's too gentle," Nikolas said. "You did the right thing."

"I could have killed him."

"You would have never let it go that far."

"I just want none of this to touch them." She grabbed his wrist with her hand. "Jonah and Spencer. I don't want them to lose that freedom, that happiness. Do you know what I mean?"

"Their innocence."

"Yeah."

He slipped behind her, and wrapped his arms around her. "Spencer is so eager to grow up, it scares me sometimes."

"He's still a little boy," Claudia said.

"I know."

"I may have wrecked that already," she said. Might as well tell him everything now. "When we were in Athens, hiding in plain sight, I taught him what to do if my father or Helena found him."

"And what would that be?"

"You're not going to like it. Basically, he now knows how to throw me under a bus in order to survive."

"Claudia."

"It's not debasing myself." Silence from behind her. "It's not. But that wasn't the worst of it. I told him what happened to his puppy."

A shiver ran down Nikolas' spine. "What happened to his puppy?"

"He wasn't hit by a car. But you knew that."

"What happened?"

"It was that little boy. Costas. He killed Apollo."

She felt Nikolas' heart pick up speed. She pulled herself out of his arms, and turned to face him again.

"I sent the family away. Blackmail. That's it. And I really wish I could tell you that that was all I told Spencer."

* * *

General Hospital. Hallway Outside of Jonah's Room.

"I'm his brother," Lucky said.

"No more visitors," the guard said.

"I have to see him."

"No more visitors."

Lucky suspected the guard didn't speak English. Lucky peered through the window of the door to the room.

Claudia was talking to Nikolas. She looked wary. If Lucky was a betting man, he'd say she was confessing to something.

Nikolas took Claudia's hand. Even from this distance, Lucky could see Claudia's eyes filling with tears. Nikolas leaned forward and kissed her. She pulled him into a hug.

The guard stepped in front of the window.

"Private," the guard said.

_Nik must have taught him that word,_ Lucky thought.

"Hey."

Lucky turned around at the sound of Elizabeth's voice. "You're still here?"

"I got away for a while, but then they pulled me back in," she said jokingly.

"You're going to make a joke like that in front of a mob boss' room?"

She poked his arm. "She's done with that now."

Elizabeth looked up at the guard. She hooked her arm through Lucky's and led him a little way down the hall.

"They had a rough day," Elizabeth said quietly.

Just when Lucky thought he couldn't feel any worse about himself. "Jonah?"

She nodded. "The worst has started. He had a blood blister at the back of his throat. It opened. Tomorrow's going to be even worse."

Lucky leaned back against the wall. "I need to talk to Nikolas," Lucky said.

"I'll let him know, just as soon as there's a good time to do it," Elizabeth said.

Lucky just stood there, looking at her. Then he pushed himself off the wall. "Okay," he said.

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah's Room.

"I don't think we should be separated from Spencer anymore," Claudia said.

She was sitting on his lap in the rocking chair, calmer now. More at peace.

He laughed.

"Mind sharing the joke?," she asked.

He kissed her neck. "You've _never_ thought we should be separated from Spencer."

"You know what? You need to pick your battles."

"I'm sorry," he said. "Back to the topic at hand. I think Spencer is safer away from us."

"I disagree," she said, before he'd even reached the end of his sentence.

"Will you hear me out?"

"It's not like I have a choice."

"Yes, it's so difficult being married to a man with an opinion."

She laughed. "You were really arrogant back there. Don't think I didn't catch the smug when Interpol agreed with you."

"Was it attractive?"

"Attractive and annoying."

"Inspector Bryce was annoying."

"You noticed that, eh? Well, don't be so quick to dismiss him. That could come in handy some time."

"His being attracted to you?" _Another one of Uncle Rudy's little life lessons,_ Nikolas thought. _Charming._

"Yes. I mean, he'll never get a chance to act on it, but it wouldn't hurt to keep him in our corner."

"Your corner."

"My corner is our corner, Nikky."

"Luke calls me Nikky."

"Wouldn't you rather hear it from me?"

"I'd rather hear anything from you. Claudia."

"Nikky."

He laughed, and then sobered up. "I don't think it's a good idea for all of us to be under the same roof all the time. Not when we're focussed on getting Jonah well. We're too distracted. And if something should happen to one of us, it will happen to all of us."

"And I don't think Spencer should be out of our sight. He should be with one of us at all times."

He was quiet for a long time. It made her nervous.

"If the worst happens," Nikolas said, "I don't --

Claudia left his lap and got up, pacing rapidly and shaking her head. He got up and pulled her to him.

"If it's too much for us," he said, "it will most certainly be too much for him. You saw how Spencer reacted to the port. Everything that's coming up is so much more drastic than that."

She pulled away from him.

He watched as Claudia went over to Jonah's bed.

She gazed down at Jonah. Reached out to gently stroke his cheek. She felt his forehead. Her face fell. She closed her eyes and bowed her head.

Nikolas went to the table beside their bed and opened the drawer, and took out something. Claudia turned just in time to see him close the drawer.

He went to her side. As she turned toward him, he held out his hand, palm up. He held out her mother's rosary and Talia's talisman.

She took a step backward. Then her hand reached out and snatched the talisman. She shoved it in her pocket. She stared at the rosary.

"You keep talking about Emily, and Courtney. But something happened to _you_," Nikolas said. "You came back here only to find out --"

"I don't want to talk about this," she interrupted coldly.

"I'm sorry, Claudia, but if you want to talk about Spencer being with us all the time, we have to talk about this."

She took a few deep breaths.

"We're fighting on too many fronts," he said.

"Give me a second, Nikolas. Please."

She took the rosary and turned away from him.

She turned the beads over slowly. After a long silence, he heard her say quietly, "Potrebbe non vegliare un'ora sola con me?" _Could you sit not one hour with me?_

"However long you need," he said.

When she turned back to face him, she seemed almost surprised to find him there. She smiled sadly at him.

She sat down on the bed, looking over Jonah. After a moment, Nikolas followed, quietly sitting down beside her.

"You think my judgment's altered?," she asked, turning to look at him.

"No," he said. "I think your world has been altered."

She put the rosary away, into her pocket. "Fair enough. What does that have to do with Spencer?"

"He lost his mother, too. But he was too young to understand it. I think..." He looked at her. She was still with him. "I think he's old enough to understand it now, but too young to handle the feelings."

_He was so little. John was so little, and so changed. And there was nothing she could do to change him back. His mother had died right in front of him. No child ever got over that._

"Claudia?"

"Okay," she said. "Until we can figure out something better."

* * *

General Hospital. Jonah's Room.

At a little after three in the morning, Nikolas had another bad dream. About Emily. Understandable, Claudia thought, placing a cool hand on his cheek. They were getting to the worst of it now. It had to remind him of how close he came to losing Emily to cancer.

She didn't wake him, and he settled back into a deep, peaceful sleep.

It took Claudia a long time to fall back asleep.

She had just gotten there when they were both jolted awake by the sounds of Jonah's cries.

"Mama! Mama! Dada!"

They rushed to his bedside.

Jonah was trying -- and failing -- to pull himself up to a sitting position. His fists gathered up hair that was now lying on his pillow.

"It's okay, Jonah," Nikolas said, picking him up out of the bed. "I have you, piccolo."

Claudia kissed Jonah's cheek. He was burning up with fever.

Jonah continued to cry.

Nikolas and Claudia exchanged a look.

Claudia kissed the top of Jonah's head. Nikolas murmured soothing sounds in Jonah's ear, rocking him.

Claudia's hand trailed down Nikolas' arm as he took Jonah away from the bed.

Claudia rang for a nurse. Then she began to gather up the hair from Jonah's bed, removing the evidence, as if that would make Jonah forget.

Nikolas sat down on the floor, holding Jonah in his lap. "Let's pretend, Jonah. Let's pretend we're on our beach."

Claudia left the bed, her hand full of Jonah's hair. She went to the counter and searched the drawers.

"The sun is shining. Your shoes are off, and the sand is squishing between your toes." Jonah's cries quieted a little.

Finding a plastic bag, Claudia put the hair inside and shoved the bag into a drawer.

"Can you hear Sheba, piccolo? Can you hear her coming on the beach?"

Jonah shook his head, his cheeks still wet with tears.

Claudia joined Nikolas and Jonah on the floor, cradling the back of his head as Nikolas continued to soothe him.

"Look, Jonah! Mommy's here."

Epiphany entered the room.

"Does it hurt, Jonah?," Claudia said. "Show me where it hurts."

Jonah's eyes fluttered shut, his cries ending.

"Jonah!," Claudia called out.

"He's okay," Epiphany said, taking Jonah from Nikolas.

Claudia glared at her.

"He's just sleeping."

Nikolas looked up at Claudia. "Θα πάρουμε τους εμπειρογνώμονες σήμερα εδώ," he said. _We get the experts here today._

* * *

Robin and Patrick's House. Morning.

The knocking on the door was insistent.

Patrick was still asleep. More importantly, Emma was still asleep.

Robin hurried to her front door and quickly opened it, catching someone mid-knock.

"Mrs. Drake?"

"Dr. Scorpio."

"As you wish," said the man in the dark, crisp suit. "May I come in?"

"I don't know," Robin said. "Who are you?"

"Agent Greco," said the man, flashing his credentials. "Interpol. I'd like to speak with you about your interference in a matter of international security."

"My what?"

"Your indiscretion."

Robin squinted at the man in puzzlement. "Okay...," she said. "In English?"

"Your mother has been detained in Geneva until we can ascertain the extent of your involvement. And hers." Agent Greco said. "If you'd like her free to come and go as she pleases, I suggest you let me into your house."

"My what has what?"

"Anna Devane. Former double agent. We've detained her. I assume you want this worked out quickly."

Robin stepped back, mutely letting him into the house.


End file.
